Extracts from the round-table discussion on Saturday June 12th at the IFM on the role of the artistic director in today's company.
The discussion took place as part of Designer's Days (www.designersdays.com).
The debates were chaired by Patricia Romatet (IFM) and Lise Coirier (TL magazine).
With:
Floriane de St Pierre (Floriane de St Pierre et associés, head hunters in the luxury industry);
Corinne Poux, Head of innovation at Hermès;
Thierry Métroz,Style director at Citroën ;
Charles Kaisin, Artistic director at Val St Lambert (Luxury Belgian crystal);
Christophe Pradère, , CEO of BETC Design.
The role of the AD
-The role of the AD is to accompany the company's strategy and work on the long-term. They need to be in the brand's « tomorrow », have a vision and be able to break with the past (Floriane de Saint-Pierre).
-ADs are « supermen » and « superwomen » who live within the frantic rhythm of collections, with huge turnover at stake. A show can not be over an hour late (Floriane de Saint-Pierre).
-The AD is the « eye » of the house; he doesn't deal with the everyday « doing » of things. His territory is emotional. Trends are not objective; its more a question of « time/dance ». (Corinne Poux).
-The role of the artistic director is to think about the « explosion of limits ». His territory is fluidity. He has a global vision of the brand. (Charles Kaisin).
-A company is more than just what it sells. The role of the AD is to take the brand away from purely marketing and get beyond the market's categories, even just a little (Christophe Pradère).
-Our role is to be sponges (Thierry Métroz).
A high-risk profession, walking on a tightrope
-The choice of AD is a strategic question that is taken at the highest level of the company (Floriane de Saint-Pierre).
-It is not a good idea to stick religiously to consumer demands; design must have the last word. But we must naturally ask questions if there is a commercial flop (Floriane de Saint-Pierre).
-You don't just pick up an AD in the street. To find the right candidate, you need to see 50 applicants who think they can do the job (Thierry Métroz).
-The AD must spot details and take risks based on his or her deeply held views. The quest for meaning must produce a varied mix of diverse influences (Corinne Poux).
-An AD needs to take a position in three areas: product function, distinctive value (a crystal glass as opposed to a plastic cup), identification of the user, in other words the appropriation of the object by the user (Charles Kaisin).
-Our role is to destabilize the system (we are the grain of sand in the company's oyster) and at the same time ensure brand coherence. Getting a car wrong is a huge responsibility. But you still need to know how to take risks. Raymond Loewy's famous quote is still valid today: the object must be "most advanced, yet acceptable" (MAYA) (Thierry Métroz).
-We create incoherence in the coherence (Thierry Métroz).
Historical evolution of a profession that is constantly changing
-Creative input now comes from below, not just from above. We are possibly entering a phase of « shared creativity ». The new media are changing the profession of artistic director. Brands are learning how to work networks. Tools such as Polyvore.com (http://www.polyvore.com) that let you create « sets » and trend panels. « My Chanel » for example is one of the most clicked on profiles on the site. As a result we see that brands are now obliged to take the client's preferences into account. Fashion bloggers have also become strategic. Some of them have been asked to create capsule collections.
Another example: Giovanni Perosino, AD at Fiat, tells the story of how the Fiat 500 was reinvented taking customer's opinions into account (through a web site). Fiat would never have brought out a white car if the clients had not asked for one (Floriane de Saint Pierre).
-More and more companies are choosing ADs with a media background. For example, at Diesel where Bruno Collin (ex-editor of WAD) replaced Wilbert Das. Jil Sander has a media background. The « Surface to Air » collective is a fashion brand as well as a design studio (production, communication, music…). (Floriane de Saint-Pierre).
-20 years ago, designers would design a car, and that was it. Now, things have changed: we play a part in product strategy and detecting weak signals. We are thought to be a little better equipped than others for identifying future consumer behavior. Our role goes as far as advertising at point of sale, showroom identity, all of the elements that express brand image… We also have a large role to play on an international level (Thierry Métroz).
A lonely profession
-There can be more than one artistic director but most of the time, there is just one cook in the kitchen (Floriane de Saint-Pierre).
-The artistic director is a conductor that can not just take in everyone's opinion to make an inedible soup. Working as a team of two never works: either it leads to conflict or one leader emerges (Thierry Métroz).
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