Jaden Smith has just been announced as the new creative director for Louboutin menswear, where he’ll roll out four capsule collections a year. And while it makes headlines, let’s be real: this feels like a slap in the face to actual designers.

For decades, fashion students have lived hand to mouth, working internships for pennies, grinding through years of study to master construction, textiles, and design. Yet one of the most prestigious roles in fashion today (at Louboutin, no less) is handed to someone with a famous last name. What does that say to the graduates who just walked across the stage this year? Are they just entering an industry where merit is irrelevant unless your father is Will Smith?

We’ve seen this before. (Yes, we love Pharrell, but let’s not pretend his LV appointment was about a degree in fashion it was about celebrity and cultural clout.) The reality is that these jobs are now reserved for the ultra-famous, not the ultra-skilled.

This move undermines the very value of a fashion degree. It tells young creatives that technical training, craft, and sacrifice don’t matter. That unless you already have global fame, the gates of luxury fashion will remain firmly closed.

Fashion should celebrate talent, not just celebrity. Otherwise, what’s the point of going to school for it at all?