Haider Ackermann’s second renaissance: his journey to Tom Ford and Canada Goose

“It’s been quite challenging times, in the sense that I’ve been touching many different spectrums of what my industry is,” says Ackermann when asked about his ample fashion credentials and most recent appointments. Both were intended to bring his star power and signature aesthetic to brands in need of fresh direction and renewed energy.

“Whether it was related to beauty with Augustinus Bader, haute couture with Jean Paul Gaultier, then sportswear with Fila, and now, of course, Canada Goose’s outerwear, and Tom Ford, which is suiting and ready-to-wear,” Ackermann continues. “It feels like I’ve been through this roller coaster that is just extraordinary, to touch all those fields and travel roads that normally would not be there for me and would be a challenge.”

Soon enough he addresses the elephant in the room: “It’s at least been, since I’m not doing my brand any more, very fortunate to speak different languages and enter someone’s field, to try to understand and learn it.”

It was seemingly at the peak of his powers when things took a turn for the Colombian-born, Belgian-educated and now France-based designer towards the end of the past decade. After a high-profile stint at Berluti was cut short just three seasons in, Ackermann was unceremoniously sacked by his own label due to internal disagreements with his former business partner Anne Chapelle.