Today another creative head departed from a big house. Keeping up with who is where, for how long is getting harder. This time Sabato De Sarno “quit” Gucci after only two years. It is no secret the Italian Fashion House has struggled in the past years. Sales have fallen to the point of panic for parent company Kering as buyers turn to other labels.
Kim Jones walked away from Dior. The shocking news came right after presenting his latest collection in Paris for menswear week. The British born designer made a mark at the top of the heritage house with a modern interpretation of tailored pieces.
Kim Jones
There was a time in the fashion business when longevity matter, not anymore. Taking the job as a head designer should come with a stylish 48 hour bag.
I met Sohee Park in 2022 during her presentation supported by Dolce&Gabbana. The London based designer impressed with a collection that was both stunning and assured. Now in 2025, the Korean born creative head is presented collections in Paris for Couture Week. GOOD JOB!
Sohee Park in 2022 A 2022 Creation from Milan Fashion Week 2025 Paris Couture
Once upon a time Kodak was one the largest companies in the world. Digital cameras hit the market. General Motors controlled 60% of the US auto market. The Corolla came along. Nokia sat on almost 40% of global mobile phone sales. iPhone was released. AOL had 30 million users in 2000, by far the largest in the world. Customers switched to broadband. MySpace was the social media site. Suddenly young people moved to Facebook. These giants fell, some faster than others. They were unable to adapt to changing times. As the shockwaves continue to pulsate throughout the global tech sector. Could this David slay the giants? That is the question.
Brazen
DeepSeek, the Chinese start-up founded in 2023 scaled the walls of success to become a conversation. AI was supposed to be the terrain of the giants, not anymore. A brazen newcomer crashed the scene. Even President Trump weighed in saying “It’s a wake-up call.” A new competitor arrived, one that cannot be bought or suppressed.
Not only did DeepSeek beat the US giants, the young Hangzhou young upstart did it cheaper and faster than expected. While Silicon Valley sat back raking in investment for the AI, High-Flyer, DeepSeek’s parent company, outflanked the Goliaths. In one day, tech stocks dropped $1 trillion in value. Maybe Wall Street knew had a premonition of what is coming. In the past it took years for companies to fall from the top. For the hyper connected age where change comes fast, within twenty months a once household brand could be regulated to the graveyard, then forgotten. Technology is an unforgiving field that moves forward, stomping over stumblers.
For the first time, The United States tech platforms must change to a catch up plan in a field they dominate. A nightmare could become a reality, a decline to irrelevancy. So significant is the threat, Fortune Magazine reported Meta head Mark Zuckerberg has convened a war room to counter DeepSeek’s new Chatbot.
The well-known expression from the Chinese philosophy Taoism: What goes up, must come down. These words are resonating in Silicon Valley.
The Duomo of Siena in Siena Italy is a remarkable piece of 13th century religious architecture. The level of stunning details is a feast for the eyes at every turn.
At Pitti Uomo, the words new technique are applied to the Japanese textile houses and brands. The final feel of the pieces shown in Florence is a bolt of blue. The JQ exhibit in the center building is always fascinating because of the way the fabrics feel: light and fine. The same question: How? The way the producers handle cashmere and silk should motivate designers to study the material process in Japan. Why these shirts and suits are not sold in major stores in the West is a mystery.
