Photo via The New York Times

Whenever a designer announces he or she is leaving a post atop a major fashion house, the rumor mill immediately spins into overdrive suggesting possible replacements – and often times potential successors are suggested based simply on which designers of a certain regard are currently available to take on a role at an established house. This pattern should be familiar to anyone who witnessed the shake-ups in Paris in recent years that saw Raf Simons land at Dior, Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, and Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton after endless conjecture.

Ghesquière’s departure from Balenciaga ushered in the arrival of New York’s Alexander Wang at the storied label just two years ago. When it was announced in July that Spring 2016 would be Wang’s last collection for Balenciaga, talk of who would follow him began right away.

With Wang’s last outing for the label held today in Paris, The New York Times’ Matthew Schneier outlined three designers – all current heads of other labels – who he claims have emerged as prime candidates (at least in the mind of fashion cognoscenti currently enduring Fashion Month): Chitose Abe of Sacai; Julien Dossena of Paco Rabanne; and Bouchra Jarrar, who has her own eponymous label.

But then, of course, there’s the Gucci Effect. When Alessandro Michele took over as Gucci’s creative director in January, he was more or less unknown, having worked at the label under Frida Giannini, who handled all public-facing duties. In just two seasons, he’s proven himself a darling of the fashion press for breathing new life into the label.

Schneier writes that “while gossip and media coverage tend to center on those names that are already known, Mr. Michele’s runaway success — at least as far as the critics are concerned; it is still too early to say decisively how the numbers will back him up — suggests that name recognition and a legion of ready fans are not key determinants of future achievement.”

Fashion Tech Forum founder Karen Harvey, who, through Karen Harvey Consulting, has placed top talent at more labels than can be listed here, agrees.

“There is a hunger and a desire within our industry to be relevant, always to the next generation and the next generation,” she said. “If I were to point to any trends, it would be to achieve that relevance without losing the DNA. Does that mean we get asked often, ‘Gee, who’s the No. 2?’ Yes. That comes up.”

Schneier reports that Balenciaga may indeed be following in the Gucci route by hiring from within its own ranks.

“No one’s really asking for, ‘Go get X name,’” Karen told him. “In some cases, it would be better, I think, to make a discovery than to pick a name.”

And, as we noted earlier this week when looking into Ralph Lauren’s decision to leave his label – a move that may have been precipitated by the need for someone who understands the reality of the tech-infused fashion industry in 2015 and beyond – a designer with a young point of view may prove to be worthwhile.

“There’s always that hunger or that desire for depth of talent married to the relevance of the time,” Karen told The Times. “I don’t believe that that’s all about a millennial, necessarily. I do think that the new generation of designers will be — that they are digital natives. They will be more naturally thinking about these things. Which is why I think so many houses are thinking: ‘What’s next? What’s next?'”