Here Are All the Big Fashion Designer Debuts to Look Out for in 2025

The fashion world loves a debut — and 2025 promises to be a bumper year.

Here, a roundup of the shows that are sure to garner substantial attention at upcoming fashion weeks:

January

Lanvin is getting a jump on Peter Copping’s debut as artistic director, positioning his Paris show at the tail end of the men’s calendar, which abuts Paris Couture Week. “Lanvin is one of the oldest couture houses in France, and the spirit of the house from its founding — even if we are not on the official couture calendar — has always been one of couture,” said Siddhartha Shukla, deputy general manager of Lanvin. “Without saying too much, we will attempt to show a kind of modern couture.” To be sure, Copping brings to the task formidable skills, honed most recently in Balenciaga’s couture and VIP departments. He’s also been at the design helm of Nina Ricci and Oscar de la Renta after backing up Marc Jacobs for years at Louis Vuitton.

When Alessandro Michele was first announced as the new creative director of Valentino back in March 2024, he debuted his take on the Roman house with ready-to-wear collections, including a surprise reveal of an extensive resort 2025 collection ahead of his spring 2025 runway show. January will see the acclaimed Italian designer, who catapulted to global fame by reinventing Gucci with a quirky and androgynous aesthetic, finally tackle haute couture, fashion’s most rarified expression. Designing couture was likely a big draw for Michele to join Valentino, as it’s a new category for him and very much in sync with his sensibility, having dressed many celebrities in dreamy Gucci gowns. The designer confessed he feels “enormous responsibility” in taking on the role at a couture house “that has engraved the word ‘beauty’ in a collective story made of research and extreme grace.”

David Koma is making his official debut as creative director at Blumarine for pre-fall 2025, though he teased a few looks on his entourage at the British Fashion Awards last December. The Georgian-born designer succeeds Walter Chiapponi, who exited Blumarine after only one collection in March. Before Chiapponi, the brand was designed by Nicola Brognano for four years. “Blumarine embodies a unique blend of sensuality, timeless glamour and elegance that I always admired,” Koma said. He launched his London-based fashion house in 2009 after completing his studies at Central Saint Martins College, and has been a participant at London Fashion Week ever since.

February

Veronica Leoni will unveil her first Calvin Klein Collection on Feb. 7, marking the storied American label’s return to the New York runway after a six-and-a-half-year hiatus. The brand, owned by PVH Corp., is plotting an intimate showing of both women’s and men’s looks. According to Eva Serrano, Calvin Klein global brand president, Leoni’s debut “marks a new era of innovation and creativity, embracing a fresh vision for the brand while honoring its iconic heritage.” A 2023 LVMH Prize finalist and founder of Quira, Leoni has worked for such brands as Jil Sander, Celine, Moncler and, most recently, The Row, where she was womenswear and menswear design director, in addition to Quira. Following the founder’s final bow in 2003, the house’s top collection has been designed by the likes of Raf Simons, Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli.

As the new creative director of New York-based label Fforme, Frances Howie will present her debut runway collection for fall 2025 at New York Fashion Week. She succeeded Paul Helbers, who had led the label since its February 2022 debut, bringing menswear design experience from The Row and Louis Vuitton to the womenswear brand. Howie was born in New Zealand and graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2006. She began her career as design assistant to Alber Elbaz at Lanvin before joining Stella McCartney in 2009, eventually becoming design director until she left in August 2021. Fforme has had momentum as a rare New York Fashion Week breakout universally lauded by critics and retailers.

Lorenzo Serafini, who had his name on the label at Philosophy since 2014, has been promoted to creative director of Alberta Ferretti, whose namesake founder is passing the reins of her fashion label, first launched in 1981. The Philosophy label, introduced in 1984, will be integrated into the Alberta Ferretti line with Serafini’s debut fall 2025 show. Before joining Ferretti’s group Aeffe, Serafini worked at Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli. “With the fashion world undergoing tremendous change, I strongly believe that Lorenzo has the creativity, strong aesthetic sense, professionalism and expertise required to meet this challenge,” said Ferretti, who remains a vice president of Aeffe.

Haider Ackermann, prized for his sense of color and sensual tailoring, swept into Tom Ford as creative director with glowing approval from the house founder. “I have long been a great fan of Haider’s work. I find both his womenswear and menswear equally compelling,” Ford said. “I could not be more excited to see what he does with the brand.” A citizen of the world who was born in Colombia and schooled in Belgium, Ackermann has designed for Berluti, done a one-off couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier, and signed on at Canada Goose since putting his signature collection on hiatus, while continuing to dress the likes of Tilda Swinton and Timothée Chalamet for red carpet moments.

Following the death of Karl Lagerfeld in 2019, Silvia Venturini Fendi led Fendi’s womenswear design studio that he had helmed since 1965 until the 2020 appointment of British designer Kim Jones as his successor. Now with Jones having stepped down from the Roman house to concentrate on his role as artistic director of men’s collections at Dior in Paris, Venturini Fendi is back, taking the lead with a coed show slated for Milan Fashion Week. It’s seen as the official kickoff to Fendi’s centennial year. The runway event will coincide with the reopening of Spazio Fendi on Via Solari in Milan, the Roman brand’s longtime runway theater and showroom, which has been undergoing renovation.

March

Despite a revolving door of designers since founder Hubert de Givenchy retired in 1995, Givenchy maintains its aura of French sophistication that will now be interpreted by British designer Sarah Burton, who logged her entire career at Alexander McQueen in London, succeeding him following his death in 2011. She is Givenchy’s eighth designer — and only its second female couturier. A fastidious fashion technician prized for dramatic tailoring and intricate, yet empowering dresses, Burton said she is excited “to be able to write the next chapter in the story of this iconic house and to bring to Givenchy my own vision, sensibility and beliefs.” She has long been a go-to designer for many women and men in the creative industries and contemporary art scene.

Julian Klausner is to present his first womenswear collection as creative director of Dries Van Noten on March 5 during Paris Fashion Week. Having worked for the Belgian founder since 2018, “his deep understanding of the brand and its values will ensure a seamless transition and a bright future,” according to Van Noten himself, who retired from the runway last summer after nearly four decades helming his eponymous house, synonymous with dignified dressing tinged with exotic details. A 2016 graduate of the renowned Brussels visual arts and fashion school La Cambre, Klausner has also worked at Maison Margiela. According to him, “the incomparable legacy that Dries is leaving behind is monumental, serving as an endless source of precious inspiration.”

September

Louis Trotter succeeds Matthieu Blazy at the creative helm of Bottega Veneta this month, with her first collection to be unveiled during Milan Fashion Week for spring 2025. Most recently, the British designer reignited the French label Carven with her quietly sensual designs. Before Carven, Trotter was at the creative helm of Lacoste for four years. She studied fashion design at Newcastle University, and worked at contemporary British label Whistles before moving Stateside to design for Calvin Klein, and later Gap and Tommy Hilfiger. She is perhaps best known for serving as creative director of Joseph from 2009 to 2018, a period of product diversification and international expansion for the brand. Trotter said of Bottega: “The house’s storied legacy of artistry and innovation is truly inspiring.”

October

Chanel surprised many when it selected Bottega Veneta’s star designer Matthieu Blazy as its new artistic director of fashion activities, responsible for all haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessories collections. He becomes only the fourth official creative director in the history of the 114-year-old brand, known for its tweed suits, quilted handbags and No.5 perfume. In his three years leading Bottega Veneta, Blazy made the brand’s show one of the hottest tickets in Milan, winning consistent acclaim for collections hinged on sophisticated, grown-up chic, and haute craftsmanship. “Matthieu stood out immediately because he has a track record, a vision of Chanel and a modernity that seduced us,” according to Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and president of Chanel SAS. ““We hope to be together for 10, 15 years or more. We’re just at the start of our story.”

Timing TBD

Last fall, Polo Ralph Lauren designer Michael Rider was recruited to succeed Hedi Slimane at the creative helm of Celine. But since he is only stepping into the role this month, it is not clear yet when he will present his first collection. (In the interim, studio collections are being prepared.) It marks a return to the French house for Rider, who logged a decade as Celine’s design director of ready-to-wear from 2008 to 2018, working under then-creative director Phoebe Philo. A graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island, Rider also worked as a senior designer at Balenciaga from 2004 to 2008.  “Celine is a maison with values very close to my heart and a beautiful heritage to build on,” the designer said.