The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Anna Wintour’s longtime right hand, creative director at the publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ, is joining the lingerie giant as head creative director following the departure of its chief executive, John Mehas, in November. Martinez will continue to be based in New York and begin his new role in January.
Martinez started working with Wintour as early as her first issue for Vogue in 1988, according to the New York Times, and left the magazine in 1995 to start a creative and branding agency. He returned to Vogue as a consultant in 2009, and was named to the corporate head role in 2015.
At Victoria’s Secret, Martinez will report to Martin Waters, the newly appointed head of the lingerie division, and join the company during a crucial period of brand reinvention following years of sales slumps and criticism that its vision of feminine sexuality was out of touch on the #MeToo era.
The designer — whose bright, arty clothes earned him a place in the 2021 LVMH Prize Finals, and a guest designer post for Louis Vuitton — curated a set at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival this weekend, the latest example of his creative approach to building brand awareness.
Practitioners of this historically behind-the-scenes profession are building powerful followings, riding a wave of interest in how the fashion sausage is made. But even the highest-profile PRs caution that the client still has to comes first.
Join us for a BoF Professional Masterclass that explores the topic in our latest Case Study, “How to Create Cultural Moments on Any Budget.”
When done effectively, a cultural partnership can rightfully earn its own place in the zeitgeist. But it’s not so easy as just hiring a celebrity to star in an ad campaign; brands must choose a partner that makes sense, find the format that fits best and amplify that message to consumers.