Matthieu Blazy joins Chanel

Matthieu Blazy is "thrilled and honoured" to be joining Chanel

The 40-year-old designer will join the fashion house in the first half of 2025 as artistic director of fashion activities, replacing Virginie Viard, who left last June following a five-year stint at the helm.

He said in a statement to WWD: “I am thrilled and honoured to join the wonderful house of Chanel. I look forward to meeting all the teams and writing this new chapter together."

Chanel want Matthieu to stay with the brand in the long term.

President of Fashion and President of Chanel SAS Bruno Pavlovsky told the outlet: “We hope to be together for 10, 15 years or more. We’re just at the start of our story. Together we’ll be able to write a new chapter for the brand.”

Matthieu has signed a renewable contract, and while the initial term is unknown, Bruno explained he will have two years to find his feet at the fashion house to keep in with his "authentic" approach.

Bruno said: “Matthieu has a deep vision of the brand that will allow us to go even further than with a more show-off approach that goes fast. I think that on the contrary, he’s someone who has to move at his own pace.

“We have a very good feeling about it, but we’ve given ourselves two years, which is the time it takes to get a feel for the brand. I’m super confident, but now we have to do the work."

In his new role, the former Bottega Veneta creative director will work on 10 collections a year, including six ready-two-wear - including the cruise and Metiers d'Art shows - two 'tactical' lines, Coco Beach and Coco Neige, and two haute couture collections.

However, he will not be involved in the jewellery and watches or fragrance and cosmetics divisions of the company.

Bruno said: “Chanel’s fashion business has become huge. After all, we’re 10 or 15 times the size of Bottega Veneta or some emerging brands,” he said.

“You can’t have one person doing everything. It’s the product of a strong and experienced collective working in tandem with a person who sets the tone with a collection or a show."