Yahoo Lifestyle Matthieu Blazy is the new creative director of Chanel
After months of speculation, Chanel has finally announced that Matthieu Blazy is its new creative director. The designer – who is stepping down from Bottega Veneta and will be replaced by Louise Trotter there – will no doubt be thrilled to nab what many believe to be the top job in fashion.
Chanel has been without a creative director since Virginie Viard stepped down from her position in June, and there have been countless rumours about who might replace her. Blazy is an excellent choice, having had great critical and commericial success at Bottega Veneta, a brand he has helmed for three years.
"I am thrilled and honoured to join the wonderful House of Chanel," Blazy said, in a statement shared with Harper's Bazaar. "I look forward to meeting all the teams and writing this new chapter together."
Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel Fashion, said: "I am delighted to welcome Matthieu Blazy. I am convinced that he will be able to play with the codes and heritage of the House, through an ongoing dialogue with the Studio, our Ateliers, and our Maisons d'art. His audacious personality, his innovative and powerful approach to Creation, as well as his dedication to craftsmanship and beautiful materials, will take Chanel in exciting new directions.”
Blazy's appointment at Bottega marked an internal promotion for a designer who worked his way up. Before then, he held the role of ready-to-wear design director at the brand, where he clearly impressed. The designer has also had stints working under Raf Simons at his namesake brand and at Calvin Klein, and under Phoebe Philo at Céline, while he also held a post at Maison Martin Margiela.
"Blazy’s understanding of craftsmanship, the breadth of his cultural reference points and the originality and elegance of his designs makes him a thrilling appointment to head up the storied maison," says Harper's Bazaar's editor-in-chief, Lydia Slater.
Blazy will take the reins from Viard who was best known as Karl Lagerfeld’s closest creative confidant and his number two; she took over as creative director at Chanel after he passed away in 2019. During her tenure, Viard worked to continue Lagerfeld’s design legacy while also infusing her youth-minded approach, introducing designs that attempted to speak to a new generation of Chanel customers – one with a discerning eye and a penchant for playful yet pragmatic clothes.
“This is without a doubt the most coveted job in fashion – but also the most intense, with 10 collections a year to deliver for the world’s second-largest fashion brand,” adds Avril Mair, Harper's Bazaar's fashion director. “It’s a clever, considered appointment: a Paris-born designer who worked quietly under some of this generation’s most revered names – Phoebe Philo, Raf Simons – then suddenly shot to fame with his appointment at Bottega Veneta in 2021. Blazy now becomes only the second external designer at the brand, following in the footsteps of Karl Lagerfeld, who himself followed Coco Chanel. The pressure will be immense but he has until October 2025 to produce his first collection, which is an indication that the brand is prepared to give the designer time to settle in.”
Blazy is expected to begin his role early next year.
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