Drew Henry, a 38-year-old South African designer shaped by stints at Celine, JW Anderson, and Burberry, takes the top creative job at Courrèges.

Courrèges announced Drew Henry as its next creative lead. His debut runway collection arrives during Paris Fashion Week in September.

Henry, 38, grew up in Mpumalanga, in eastern South Africa, and started his fashion education at LISOF in Johannesburg, a school that prioritizes pattern cutting and garment construction over runway theatrics. He later moved to London for his MA at Central Saint Martins, graduating in 2014. His teacher was Louise Wilson OBE, the famously uncompromising head of the program whose former students include Lee Alexander McQueen, Kim Jones, and Phoebe Philo herself.

Wilson’s name matters here because it connects two threads in Henry’s story: the rigor of technical training and the gravitational pull of Philo. After CSM, Henry went straight to Celine, entering the house during Philo’s era as an intern before moving onto the design team full-time. He left for JW Anderson in 2018, taking on ready-to-wear as Design Director. Two years later, Philo brought him back. When she launched her long-anticipated eponymous label in 2020, Henry was her Head of Design, helping shape the collection that the industry had waited years to see.

That label, quiet and closely held, became a launchpad. Since 2023, Henry has been Senior Design Director at Burberry under Daniel Lee, another Philo alumnus who ran Bottega Veneta before taking over the British house. The career reads like a closed loop of mentorship, each role flowing into the next, always inside studios that valued restraint, construction, and a certain unsentimental clarity about what clothes should do.

Courrèges is betting that clarity translates. Henry appears to share the house founder’s fixation with garments that work for real bodies moving through real life. “André Courrèges believed in clothes that make sense for how people live. That matters to me,” he said. “I have always been drawn to work that feels modern, useful and direct.”

Marie Leblanc, CEO of Courrèges, has been repositioning the brand’s pricing and international strategy since arriving in 2024. She called Henry a natural fit. “His creative talent and contemporary culture make him a perfect fit for the House. Together, we aim to accelerate its international expansion and amplify its global reach, while remaining true to the brand’s French heritage.”

François-Henri Pinault, Chairman of Artémis, put it plainly: “Drew Henry is a strong creative talent with a clear point of view. His experience and understanding of today’s fashion landscape make him well placed to lead the next phase of Courrèges.”

Henry inherits a label that is smaller and more agile than most of its Parisian neighbors, but one that still needs to grow internationally. He seems aware of the balance. “Joining this iconic French House, I feel a strong responsibility to honour its history while bringing my own perspective,” he said. “I am grateful to François-Henri Pinault and Marie Leblanc for their trust, and I am excited to shape a vision for the House that is optimistic, clear and grounded.”