Joseph names Clayton creative director, Campos to join as CEO

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 24, 2018

Joseph had plenty of big news on Monday, naming not just a new Creative Director but a new Chief Executive too. The contemporary luxury brand announced the appointment of Susana Clayton as its creative chief and Barbara Campos as CEO. 

Joining Joseph next month, Clayton’s role will be based at the design studio and atelier in Paris and will see her in charge of the label’s womenswear and menswear collections.

Clayton’s career has spanned 20 years, during which she has worked at some of the best known labels in Paris, including Givenchy where she was Head Designer and then Design Director Womenswear, and Chloé where she was Senior Designer. 

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In New York she had also been Design Director at Rag & Bone. But her experience isn’t only in the luxury sector and she held the same position at Gap Inc during her time in the US.

Her first collection will be for AW 2019 and it will be interesting too see what she comes up with given what she said in the announcement of her appointment. “I look forward to embracing the brand's origins and to realign it with Joseph Ettedgui's vision, creating a balance between fashion and a timeless wardrobe of luxury essentials,” she said.

The reference to the brand’s founder is significant and is likely to represent a closer connection to his overall outlook than the label has had in recent periods.

Meanwhile, new CEO Campos joins from Marni where she was Global Wholesale Director. Like Clayton, she also has an impressive CV and was previously Executive VP International at Diane von Furstenberg and MD of Furla France and Germany. 

Clayton will have a few weeks getting to know the company before the new CEO’s arrival as the former joins on October 1 but Campos won’t be there until November 5. 

At that point she’ll take over from Hirosuke Takagi, who will move into the newly created position of Chairman. 

Campos said she’s “always been a huge fan of the brand,” and praised Clayton’s talent, “clear vision for the Joseph brand” and “excellent commercial understanding of the business.”