Haider Ackermann's 5 best fashion moments

It is difficult to pigeonhole Haider Ackermann into a precise category of designer. First of all because in the course of a career lasting 26 years, started in '98 with an internship at John Galliano before founding his own eponymous brand in 2003, the Colombian designer has zigzagged numerous times between the world of indie fashion and that of institutional fashion, often flirting with the latter but above all earning the deep respect of the entire industry. While other creatives have spent their careers directing historic brands, working sometimes for the Arnaults and sometimes for the Pinaults, even becoming celebrities in some cases, Ackermann has always remained for the few, while being loved by everyone. After the founding of the brand that bears his name, Ackermann gained much fame in fashion circles, remaining always independent and focused on his own project, and reaching the first turning point of his career in 2010 when the seeds were sown for what his career would become 14 years later. His upcoming entry at Tom Ford, which will see him present a debut collection for the brand in March 2025, has been hailed as a match made in Heaven by the entire industry, one of the most fitting and anticipated pairings between designer and brand in recent years.

And precisely on the occasion of this appointment, here is a quick recap of the five most emblematic moments of Haider Ackermann's career.

1. Lagerfeld's compliments

We are in October of 2010. Not a few noticed, in Paris, the presence of Haider Ackermann among the guests at the Chanel SS11 show. The designer is the most hot of the hot tickets: just the year before, he had turned down becoming the direct successor of Martin Margiela, who had definitively retired from the scene that year; after the debacle of John Galliano at Dior, he had also turned down the offer to lead the brand, which then went to Raf Simons. A month after the Chanel show, Karl Lagerfeld was interviewed by Numero Magazine, which asked him who he would like to see as his successor at the helm of the legendary French brand. "I have a contract for life so it all depends on who I would like to hand it to," said Lagerfeld. "At the moment, I'd say Haider Ackermann." A compliment that greatly excited Ackermann, whose name had been on the map for just under a decade but who, after the endorsement from Kaiser Karl, entered with all due recognition into the collective consciousness of fashion and its establishment. For the next 14 years, until his appointment at Tom Ford, Ackermann remained one of the potential candidates for the creative direction of Chanel. 

2. The menswear debut in Florence

Ackermann has always defined himself as a womenswear designer. For this reason, his Florentine show A Carte Blanche Named Opium, presented at Pitti Immagine Uomo in June 2010, Ackermann stepped out of his comfort zone and presented his first menswear collection – a surprise considering that the designer had been invited as a representative of womenswear. The collection was relatively small but was over time compared to the works of Romeo Gigli and Yves Saint Laurent, immediately found buyers (those from American Barneys in the lead), and not only signaled that Ackermann had become a well-rounded designer, no longer a hidden gem in Paris' programming, but also planted the seed for what would become his men's line three years later, triggering a chain of events that would bring him Kanye West's endorsement, the appointment at Berluti, and, today, the creative direction of Tom Ford.

3. The Mercedes-Benz campaign with Tilda Swinton

After abandoning his investors and becoming completely independent, Ackermann was at the peak of his cult designer fame. Kanye West's endorsement (who showed up at Dries Van Noten’s SS15 show in a velvet sweater, ripped jeans, and Bottega Veneta boots) not only brought him exceptional clients like A$AP Rocky, Usher, Luka Sabbat, and Miguel Pimentel but also a successful business. In July 2014, to promote its efforts through various fashion weeks around the world, Mercedes-Benz commissioned director Andre Chemetoff to make a short film featuring Tilda Swinton driving through the Scottish moorland wrapped in a deconstructed taupe-colored coat and an ensemble entirely designed by Ackermann. It is the definitive culmination of a friendship and creative partnership started back in 2003 and continuing until now on red carpets around the world.

4. The debut at Berluti

We are in 2016. Alessandro Sartori announces his upcoming move to Zegna, already at the time a brand with a huge presence on the market, and leaves an open position at Berluti, a smaller brand but part of LVMH's portfolio, which he had transformed from a shoe brand to a name of relevance in tailoring, quintuplicating its turnover. Antoine Arnault, the brand’s president, aimed to modernize, bring innovation, and attract even younger clients, and Ackermann was the ideal name: yes, he was specialized in womenswear, but by then the entire hip-hop world worshipped him; he represented something new for a fashion industry that was already bending towards streetwear. The debut show was simply stunning, the best Berluti had (or would have) for years – unfortunately, the partnership lasted only three very strong seasons before Ackermann decided to leave as well. But at the last show, another seed was sown that would bloom in the future: it was the first show to which Timothée Chalamet was invited, introduced to the designer by Tilda Swinton, and from 2018 onwards Chalamet would wear Ackermann on his red carpets – ensuring the designer's fame with a new generation of clients and admirers.

5. Timothée Chalamet's red carpets

Gen Z has heard about Haider Ackermann thanks to Timothée Chalamet. The first look was at the 2018 Oscars, a white tuxedo, which did not hint at what would come years later. There was the pearl grey suit with double belt and a coordinated blouse seen at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, then the silver suit worn at Cannes in 2021, and finally, the ultimate bomb: the red halter top that leaves the back exposed seen again in Venice in 2022. Just three of the most iconic moments of a collaboration or artistic partnership that continues to this day, with Chalamet having become the unofficial ambassador of Ackermann's brand and who, we assume, we will soon see covered in Tom Ford from head to toe.