Luxury fashion house, Balenciaga, have named Cédric Charbit as their new Chief Executive Officer. The move pulls away the 39-year-old from his previous position at Saint Laurent, where he served as VP of product and marketing for the last four years. Charbit will take the reigns of the Spanish brand at the end of next month, on November 28. In an official release sent out by parent company Kering, the company said that Frenchman will begin to “support the development of the house and further accelerate its international growth”.
It’s been a busy few months for Kering. The company is fresh from appointing former Hugo Boss head, Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, to work for Bottega Veneta. Along with Bottega, both of Alexander McQueen and Burberry have also shuffled their management, proving a swift shakeup in the fashion world.
Meanwhile, Charbit himself has spent sixteen years in the industry, and will be trusted to utilize the entirety of his previous experience. It will be tough to position Balenciaga to compete against other houses like YSL and Gucci. Both of whom are riding high from high-profile partnerships, and have had more recent success in the market. Exiting Balenciaga is Isabelle Guichot, who acted as its CEO during a nine-year stint. Kering teased that she is moving to their main office in an undisclosed role.
