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Charlie Smith is joining UK technology firm Nothing, ending a seven-year run as Loewe’s chief marketing and communications officer.
Smith worked alongside star designer Jonathan Anderson, who left Loewe for LVMH stablemate Dior earlier this year, and chief executive Pascale Lepoivre to steer Loewe’s image during a period of rapid growth. The luxury brand steadily transitioned from an arty, niche label to one with mass-media currency and cross-generational awareness, complementing efforts like the Loewe Craft Prize with celebrity tie-ups that included Maggie Smith, Jamie Dornan and more. Smith oversaw collaborations with Studio Ghibli and On Running and developed Loewe’s viral TikTok strategy.
This year, Smith helped to onboard new creative directors Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, keeping up the brand’s heat with a saturated, smouldering first campaign shot by Talia Chetrit and a well-received debut runway show. “While my chapter draws to a close, the brand will continue to go from strength to strength,” Smith said in a statement.
Come January, Smith will join Nothing as its chief brand officer, overseeing brand, image, marketing, communications and store design. Nothing was founded in 2020 with the aim of providing an alternative to smartphone incumbents like Apple and Samsung and putting “design, excitement, and human connection back at the centre of technology,” the company says. In September, Nothing raised $200 million in a Series C funding round that valued the firm at $1.3 billion.
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“I’m excited about moving from one creative, fast growing company to another, and the challenge of taking what I have learned from luxury fashion and applying it to consumer tech,” Smith said in a statement. “Nothing has a mission that really resonates with me, which is that technology should be fun, should connect us to culture and enable us to live our lives to the fullest,” he added.
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