Alexandre de Betak changed the fashion show forever
In a wide-ranging conversation, the founder of Bureau Betak shares his perspective on the industry right now.
By Olya Kuryshchuk
For 35 years, Alexandre de Betak has defined the modern fashion show. The founder of production company Bureau Betak, he’s turned runway presentations into the viral, media-driving spectacles that dominate our feeds. Now stepping back from the day-to-day of his agency to focus on his art and a new talent incubator with The Independents. In this candid conversation, we question the power and impact put on designers, exploring why the most radical shifts are coming from adjacent fields, the inevitability of AI, and if the future of fashion belongs to the collective as well as the individual. With so much to talk about, we’ll get straight to it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how the industry still treats designers as the only “real” creative talent. Because of my work with designers, people assume 1 Granary exists solely to champion them, and for a long time that was true. But lately, I feel the pedestal has become disproportionate. Designers receive the awards, the funding, the visas, the narrative. Meanwhile, so many other creatives who shape the work remain invisible. And ironically, I often see more originality coming from those adjacent creative roles than from designers themselves; the field feels oversaturated and algorithmic. I wanted to talk to you about why fashion continues to place designers at the centre of everything, and whether that still makes sense.
You’re touching on several points: the state of creativity and talent, particularly among fashion designers, but also how the industry positions designers versus everyone else who makes the system function. You’re right: in other creative industries, the collective is celebrated. Film credits everyone. Music does too; maybe less, but still more than fashion. Fashion still clings to this idea that “fashion = fashion designer”, and everything else is secondary.
One reason is understandable: fashion demands constant output. “Fashion designer” actually means the entire infrastructure behind them. You have to deliver multiple collections a year, plus shows, sales, campaign imagery – an insane amount. The speed and quantity surpass any other creative field. In film, directors might make one film a year or one every ten. No one forces you to make one every two months. Same with music. In the art world, even with the explosion of fairs, no artist would sign a contract requiring a new exhibition every two months. In fashion, that pressure is the norm. And deadlines are immovable. If your show is 2 March at 10am, it happens at 10am. At 10:30 you’re already late. I used to say: maximum lateness, 29 minutes. Now that I’m doing art and architecture, I wish I could apply the 29-minute rule there. I’m not excusing or blaming anyone, but it explains a lot.