Taking an attitude that may become a 21st-century template for other brands, Giovanni Pungetti, chief executive of Maison Martin Margiela, said Tuesday that the fashion house would continue to operate with the creative staff that its reclusive founder had developed over 20 years but that there would be no new appointment of a creative director.

Ever since Karl Lagerfeld was tapped by Chanel in 1983, followed by John Galliano at Christian Dior in 1997, other storied houses have tried to fill the shoes of a deceased or departed creator. But as the design appointments become a revolving door at houses like Nina Ricci or Emanuel Ungaro, the replacement mechanism seems to have broken down.

“It would have been very simple to hire someone else, and we evaluated that option, but in the end, what is important is the taste of designer,” Mr. Pungetti said Tuesday in an interview in Paris.

Insiders had known for months that Mr. Margiela had left the company in all but name. The designer’s particular vision, which had focused on the authenticity of the vintage artisan fused with modern photo prints depicting wrinkles or handwork, was missing from recent shows.