Aaron Esh named creative chief at retailer AllSaints

There’s been a lot of change at AllSaints in recent periods but most of it seems to have been positive and Monday brought another key development. 

The company announced the appointment of East London designer Aaron Esh as chief creative officer, effective 3 November.

The Central Saint Martins graduate “has emerged as a bold new voice in British fashion”, the company said, and it clearly wants the power of that voice to make an impact on its own output.

Esh launched his own label (which will continue) in 2022, “drawing on Savile Row discipline and British subculture influences” and that combination has pushed him into the limelight as his career includes him being nominated for the LVMH Prize, selected for the BFC’s NEWGEN programme, and showing during London Fashion Week.

So what will his new role involve? He’ll report to AllSaints CEO Peter Wood and “guide the brand’s creative direction across menswear and womenswear. He will oversee design, campaigns, digital expression and brand tone, based from AllSaints’ East London studios”.

Woods called him a “highly talented British designer whose originality and cultural relevance have already made a significant impact on contemporary fashion. His appointment reflects our commitment to keeping creativity at the heart of AllSaints. Aaron brings a perspective that aligns with our blend of craftsmanship and identity, and I’m confident he will seek out and deliver what makes this brand globally distinctive”.

And Esh added that “AllSaints is a brand I’ve grown up with — its London sensibility, commitment to craft and ability to fuse edge with refinement have always stood out to me. I believe there’s a space where design, cultural relevance and accessibility meet, and AllSaints sits right at that intersection. There’s a real opportunity to build on what already makes it powerful and evolve it for a new generation. I’ll keep building [the] Aaron Esh [label] in parallel, while helping define the next chapter of AllSaints. In an era where the idea of luxury is shifting, there’s a clear opportunity to shape what modern, democratic fashion can be — and I’m excited to help write that story.”

The news comes as other brands with which we don’t associate a creative chief’s role also appoint heavyweight creative talent — such as Gap, Hoff, Whistles and more. 

It also comes as AllSaints releases news stories thick and fast. Only last week it announced the autumn opening of a new permanent store and two long-term pop-ups. And in recent weeks it emerged that its COO was to leave while it made key leadership team appointments with a new chief people officer and chief transformation and technology officer. Recently it also upsized at Bicester Village and announced a collaboration with Formula 1 team Atlassian Williams Racing to launch a limited-edition collection.