17 Modern Designers Who Rejuvenated Old Brands

For any fashion label, couture house, and mall brand, longevity is a continuously sought-after goal. Every fashion brand wants to stay relevant for as long as possible, but ironically, the longer a label stays in the game, the harder that is to accomplish.

Whether it's a storied fashion house that's been around for over 100 years, or your grandfather's favorite outdoor heritage brand, every label needs an update after it's outlived its competition and imitators. Sometimes, all it takes is fresh blood in the form of hiring a new designer to come in and shake things up. If all goes right, bringing a designer onto a brand can be exceptionally successful. Other times, the move goes down as a failed experiment. But all gave their respective brands a reworked, rejuvenated appearance and presence in the fashion spectrum. From stagnation to revival, these are 17 Modern Designers Who Rejuvenated Old Brands.

Brand Affected: Balmain

Balmain was a major cornerstone of the French high-fashion scene since the house's founding in 1945, dressing major female celebrities and members of high society in post-war America and Europe. Oscar de la Renta was the head designer during a volatile period after Pierre Balmain's death, but after de la Renta left, the house struggled to find a successor. While de la Renta helped keep the house afloat, Balmain filed for bankruptcy after he left. The company was revived in 2005, and hired ChristopheDecarnin from PacoRabanne. Rousteing was hired in 2009 to work under Decarnin, but rose quickly to the role of creative director following Decarnin's exit in 2011.

Rousteing is different in almost every way from the conventional archetype of high-fashion designer, mainly in that he's a black man still in his 20s. Yet despite his youth, he has helped shepherd the old-school brand into the contemporary fashion scene, with the label (and its signature biker jeans) constantly on the lips of fashion editors and rappers alike. Rousteing is cited as moving the label away from the rock n' roll of Decarnin's direction into a a refined-meets-modern play off the house's glamorous couture history, something that has made the label a favorite of big names like Pusha T, Kid Cudi, and—Rousteing's personal friend and muse—Rihanna.

Brand Affected: Burberry

Both the creative director and CEO of British heritage house Burberry, Bailey is widely respected for bringing the brand out of its stuffy British roots and into the modern digital marketplace. The paramount achievement of this move to the digital space was the opening of the Burberry store 121 Regent St. in London, which was overseen by Bailey and former CEO Angela Ahrendts. The shop is a physical interpretation of the brand's website, and helps mix the digital marketplace with the traditional luxury goods store. The reason that Burberry isn't known exclusively for its classic plaid print, its famed trench coat, and scarves is strictly because of Bailey's influence.

Brand Affected: Louis Vuitton

Appointed to the role of creative director in 1997, Marc Jacobs changed the aging Louis Vuitton brand from strictly a luggage company to a luxury fashion powerhouse. He was unafraid to show a sexier side of the label, and even appeared nearly naked in a few promotions for the brand. Jacobs is credited with providing the house with its first ready-to-wear collection, and updating the profile of the house to include modern art-world riffs on the classic “LV” monogram.

With his help, Louis Vuitton collaborated with Stephen Sprouse on a line of graffiti-style bags, and enlisted the help of Takashi Murakami to add his "superflat" anime art aesthetic to a line of bags in 2003, 2006, and 2008. The work of Sprouse and Murakami for Vuitton was so popular, it's likely you've seen knockoffs of their designs more than the actual collaborations. Don't forget, Marc Jacobs was at the helm when Kanye was calling himself the “Louis Vuitton Don.”

Brand Affected: Hickey Freeman

An artifact of the Americana era of the mid to late 2000s, Hickey Freeman wanted to channel its heritage designs to a younger audience. Enter Aaron Levine (with help from a design team that included the insanely skilled Ian Velardi), who was tasked with rejuvenating the old school history of Hickey Freeman for the modern guy in his 20s—a concept that materialized into the brand Hickey.

The best part of the resulting gear was the risks every garment took, turning a line that your grandparents may have worn, and added slimmer fits, fabric switchups, and completely new designs. It was heritage wear that was of this generation—instead of gear you inherited from your grandfather.

While the clothing garnered much praise from critics and American heritage heads alike, the line inevitably was both poorly marketed and poorly priced, a few reasons why Hickey vanished by 2010. After the brand folded, Ian Velardi went on to establish his own personal line, inevitably moving on to Bonobos. Adam Levine moved around the menswear scene until he landed at his current position at Club Monaco, where he currently kills the “middle fashion” game.

Brand Affected: Kenzo

Started in 1970 by Kenzo Takada, the designer's eponymous label was meant to provide an “east-meets-west” concept to the Parisian runways. Kenzo's signatures include nature-based prints and colors, focusing on mixing luxury sensibilities with a wild, jungle aesthetic.

After Kenzo retired in 1999, the brand maintained his original aesthetics, but didn't begin reinventing and moderning Kenzo's concepts until Opening Ceremony's Carol Lim and Humberto Leon were hired as the brand's creative directors in 2011. Using their globally successful Opening Ceremony as a design starting point, the pair have created a new crop of vibrant and signature pieces for the label, including the often street styled tiger head sweatshirt.

Brand Affected: Jil Sander

Before Dior, Raf Simons put in serious work at fashion label Jil Sander, starting in 2005. This gig with Jil Sander was his first foray into designing womenswear, and also worked on the label's menswear line. Simons also helped to create the label's first diffusion line for women, Jil Sander Navy.

While Jil Sander has always been a label extreme minimalism and simplicity, Simons added a lighter touch, creating more feminine shapes and adding brighter colors to the design palette at the brand. Inevitably, after working on Jil Sander's mens and womens lines for over seven years, Simons moved on to design womenswear for Dior, leaving the spot open for Jil Sander to return to the helm of her namesake brand. And while Simons is positively killing it at Dior and his eponymous label, his mark on the fashion world was made while at Jil Sander.

Brand Affected: Dior Homme

After working as the men's designer at Yves Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane moved his talents to Dior in 2001, where he was appointed creative director for menswear. Slimane guided Dior Homme into the 21st century, creating the unique skinny (see: very skinny) fit as one of the hallmarks of his tenure with the house. During his time at Dior Homme, he dressed both men and women with his work, and created on-stage looks for Daft Punk, Beck, and David Bowie.

The look of Dior Homme, today headed up by Kris Van Assche, still carries on the modern-day punk-rock style that Slimane helped establish, something he inevitably brought with him when he began working as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent (now Saint Laurent).

Brand Affected: Woolrich Woolen Mills

In terms of American textiles, it doesn't get older than Woolrich. The company was founded in 1830 in Pennsylvania, and is the oldest manufacturer of outdoor wear in the United States. In 2006, Woolrich added a high-end heritage line to spruce up and modernize its image, placing Daiki Suzuki at the helm. At the time, Suzuki was exclusively designing for his highly-respected and highly-coveted Engineered Garments brand. Suzuki drew heavily from the Woolrich archives while adding unrelated, non-archival heritage pieces to the label's collections, striving to rework the concepts of the past, but not reproduce them. Suzuki's combination of workwear with contemporary design touches like floral prints and re-interpreted silhouettes were a staple of Engineered Garments, and he imported all these notions to his work at WWM. Suzuki was replaced by Mark McNairy in 2010.

Brand Affected: Balenciaga

Almost immediately after he started, Alexander Wang cultured a strong fanbase that subscribed to his blend of uber-cool high-fashion and very wearable sportswear. Men and women were on board with nearly everything Wang produced, and he was definitely instrumental in introducing the contemporary notion of comfort into timeless elegance and sophistication.

In 2012, following the controversial departure of Nicolas Ghesquière, Wang was announced as the label's creative director. While Balenciaga was always a label that helped predict and move market trends under Ghesquière, Wang's introduction added a darker tone, applying the the young designer's shadowy sportswear aesthetics to the couture fashion house. Considering Wang's young age (30), his designs often resonate with a younger audience, something he applies to his eponymous line, his T by Alexander Wang diffusion line, as well as Balenciaga.

Brand Affected: Haspel

Haspel, a New Orleans-based brand, is known for pioneering the seersucker suit and dressing the southern dandy set since the brand's beginnings in 1909. Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos, a design duo that is known for reworking traditional men's tailoring without taking it too seriously in their brands Shipley & Halmos, was asked to add their magic touch to the label in 2013. The pair designed a full sportswear collection for spring 2014, and like many heritage brand overhauls, the duo is not only modernizing cuts, but putting the brand on the lips of those who would have once passed it off as "old-fashioned."

Brand Affected: Club Monaco

Following his stint at the short-lived Hickey, Aaron Levine moved around a variety of menswear positions, including time at Jack Spade and Rogues Gallery before picking up the position of VP of men's design at luxury-casual Club Monaco. A major piece in Levine's portfolio is the Grant suit, a two-piece set that is designed with Levine's desire to feel like wearing denim—while wearing a suit. The cut has a low button stance, high armholes, and an overall slim fit. From redesigning the store, to choosing key collaborations with contemporary names like Reigning Champ, to landing in premiere retailers like Mr. Porter, Club Monaco has Levine to thank.

Brand Affected: L.L. Bean

Founder of Rogues Gallery Alex Carleton lent his modern menswear talents to fellow New Englander L.L. Bean from 2009 to 2013, crafting the offshoot “L.L. Bean Signature” line. At the beginning of his time with L.L. Bean, the label was a weird mix between a heritage outerwear brand and outlet mall heavyweight, something that Carleton eventually helped repair and refine. By combining roughly 100 years of history and classic products with a marriage of the details and designs that defined L.L. Bean across the decades, including pocket details from the '70s and cuts from the '90s. L.L. Bean was always creating clothes that you could wear out into the woods, but Carleton's contribution allowed the gear to transition into an everyday context.

Brand Affected: Tommy Hilfiger

A designer who exemplifies the English history of Savile Row tailoring, Simon Spurr first caught the attention of the fashion industry at his first fall/winter showing at New York Fashion Week in 2010, ultimately snagging the role of creative consultant for Tommy Hilfiger's menswear. Spurr brought his English aesthetics to Hilfiger's classic American prep, something that boosted the lagging brand since its downfall in the late '90s to early '00s to a contemporary label that has re-positioned itself in menswear.

Brand Affected: Brooks Brothers

It doesn't get more American prep than Brooks Brothers, but the classic Ivy League staple was looking for a little more luxury when they asked Thom Browne to lend his talents to the newly launched Black Fleece line in 2007. While Brooks Brothers became a symbol of classic American tailoring, the brand was lacking innovation, something that Browne turned around through his contributions with Black Fleece. The line is considerably more expensive than Brooks Brothers' main line, but also more contemporary and luxury focused. Compared with Browne's usual “shrunken suiting” designs, Brooks Brothers Black Fleece functioned as a way for those more comfortable with the classic Brooks Brothers design style to embrace some contemporary and alternative tailoring.

Brand Affected: Gap

Patrick Robinson brought his high fashion history to Gap as head designer, unfortunately ending with less than favorable results and an exit in 2012. With a design history that includes time at Giorgio Armani, Perry Ellis, and Paco Rabanne, Robinson had the resume and accomplishments under his belt to secure a position at Gap in 2007. Robinson had done the impossible before: While at Armani he managed to turn the failing “Collezioni” line profitable within his four years at the brand, and Gap was hoping for a repeat performance.

Even though he's no longer at the giant apparel corporation, Patrick's legacy can still be seen today. If you walk into a location today, the 1969 denim line is still prominent, and Robinson's updated and refined production practices still have a clear frontrunner position in every line-up.

Robinson's choices to run against the grain were successful in theory, but alienating in practice. For example, when Gap's competitors were doing the obvious delivery of bright colors for spring, Robinson went for subtle pops of color like burgundy and peach tones. When the designer was asked to step down, it came to light that Robinson's designs were deemed "too forward" for the regular Gap consumer, and that broadly speaking, his attempt to turn sales around for the floundering brand fell flat. Still, for the period he was there, Gap re-entered the conversation amongst more forward-thinking guys. But with Gap's national scale and infrastructure, Robinson's creative notions had to bring in mass-market dollars, and by not playing to the lowest common denominator, Robinson's tenure was remarkable but short-lived.

Brand Affected: Diesel

Diesel was being upfront when they hired Niccola Formichetti as its new artistic director, bluntly explaining that he was brought on board to reboot the brand. Diesel founder Renzo Rosso claimed publicly that he had not spent as much time as he wanted to with the brand over the last five years, and hired Formichetti to be his replacement with the direction of the brand. Formichetti has a diverse background in fashion, including positions as fashion director for Uniqlo and Lady Gaga's stylist, and is one of the most connected individuals in multiple subcultures and cool-kid contexts.

Formichetti has been fearless in his approach to Diesel's marketing and re-positioning. He has focused on teasing out the more rebellious side of the Italian fashion label, with an emphasis on the brand's denim. Social media is also a major proponent of the Diesel reboot, with Formichetti claiming not to follow the now-overused standards of social media marketing, but instead use social media to help expand the followings of self-promoting Instagrammers. Whatever the method to the madness is, Formichetti has revitalized Diesel from a name stuck in the '90s to one that's making serious moves in 2014 and beyond.

Brand Affected: Givenchy

Givenchy is the brand that has played a seminal role in today's blend of high-fashion, hip-hop, and the mixing of designer names and the dynamic energy of what's happening in the streets. And you can thank Ricardo for that. Because of Tisci's influence, the historic fashion house borrows heavily from hip-hop, and has evolved into a brand that has fans across the entire spectrum of style and fashion. Since he joined Givenchy in 2005, Tisci has been injecting his brand of dark, referential style into the fashion house, combining luxury quality with supremely wearable designs. Today, you can see Tisci's work on the backs of basically every major celebrity including Rihanna, Kanye West, and Victor Cruz, in addition to regular guys who are dedicated streetwear heads, high-end fashionistos, or both.