The Phoebe Philo alum will take over in May and debut his first collection for the French house during Paris Fashion Week in September.
Courrèges has named Drew Henry as its next artistic director, handing the French house to a designer whose career has unfolded largely behind the scenes but within some of fashion’s most influential studios. He will succeed Nicolas Di Felice in May and present his first runway collection for the label during Paris Fashion Week in September.
The move places Courrèges squarely within fashion’s ongoing preference for highly trained studio talent over marquee-name appointments. Henry emerged from the creative orbit of Phoebe Philo, beginning at Celine before moving to JW Anderson as design director for ready-to-wear, then returning to work alongside Philo on the launch of her namesake label. Since 2023, he has served as senior design director at Burberry, working with Daniel Lee.
For Courrèges, the choice suggests continuity in method as much as change in authorship. Di Felice also arrived at the house after years in supporting roles, largely under Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton. Over five years, he helped return Courrèges to sharper industry relevance, refining its image around sensuality, precision, and a gender-fluid take on house signatures. Vinyl jackets, go-go boots, and ribbed knits regained traction under his watch, while fragrance and accessories became more active parts of the business through launches including Slogan, Le Messager, the Hobo bag, and the Holy bag.
Henry’s training points to a similarly exacting foundation. Born in Mpumalanga, South Africa, he studied first at LISOF in Johannesburg, where pattern cutting and garment construction form the core of the curriculum, before completing an M.A. at Central Saint Martins in 2014 under the late Louise Wilson. That path places him in a lineage of designers shaped by rigorous technique as much as conceptual fluency.
The business context matters. Courrèges leadership framed the appointment as the start of a new chapter built on recent momentum, while linking Henry’s arrival to a wider plan for international growth. That ambition comes as chief executive officer Marie Leblanc continues to navigate a price repositioning strategy during a softer luxury market, making creative clarity especially valuable.
Henry appears set to approach the house through the lens of modern usefulness, directness, and wearability — principles that sit comfortably within André Courrèges’ original vision. The question now is how he will translate that discipline into a point of view distinct enough to carry the label forward. September will offer the first answer.