New Topic: the Design BUSINESS

Carol Lim & Humberto Leon from their Opening Ceremony profiles

So this week came the announcement that Humberto Leon & Carol Lim, of Opening Ceremony, were hired as creative directors for Kenzo. I have to say, I was surprised. Not because they're not talented- I think they have more than proven themselves in knowing what people want- but we're talking about a major design house here. One based in Paris- city of tradition- no less. I felt like this may even border on scandalous. The fashion press seems to really like the idea though, and considering Jessica Simpson's "fashion" business is worth a billion dollars, does it really matter that the creative directors of brands have never been to design school? Maybe the Lindsay Lohan at Ungaro situation lowered the bar so far that nothing seems like a surprise announcement any more. And should we even talk about the Halston/ Sarah Jessica Parker/ Harvey Weinstein development that happened a couple of days later?

I'm curious- what do you think?
- does the caché of a big name bring attention to the brand enough to revitalize it even if it doesn't live up to expectations from a design standpoint?
- does it matter if the creative minds can conceptualize a big vision without the formal training of technique?
- does the customer even care?