Matthieu Blazy Confirmed As Chanel's Creative Director
Just hours after his departure from Bottega Veneta.
Chanel‘s sixth-month sans Creative Director stint has come to a close, with a new suitor stepping into the coveted spot. Fresh out of Bottega Veneta – literally, as of hours ago – Matthieu Blazy has been selected as Chanel’s new Artistic Director.
Leading all of the legacy house’s fashion, couture and accessories, Blazy – who was appointed to Bottega in November of 2021 – is slated to show 10 collections a year for Chanel, making his grand debut at Paris Fashion Week’s next October run of shows.
“We have a lot of confidence in Matthieu’s capacity to bring modernity and a different approach to Chanel,” conveyed Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s president for fashion in an interview, per The New York Times. He also referred to Blazy as “a talent for tomorrow,” noting the “respect [he has] for the heritage but also a very specific design for ready-to-wear, for silhouettes [and] for bags.”
“We like it quite a lot. We want him to push, to test, to go where he feels is right. We don’t want to give the feeling that the brand is stuck.”
“I am thrilled and honored to join the wonderful house of Chanel. I look forward to meeting all the teams and writing this new chapter together,” Blazy said in a statement given to WWD.
As revealed in a quote from Alain Wertheimer (Chanel’s global executive chairman) and Leena Nair (Chanel’s global chief executive officer) given to WWD, the 40-year-old Blazy beat out the industry’s most talented designers – “number twos, number threes and number fours.”
“Very quickly, we narrowed it down to three people with whom we spoke, but Mathieu stood out immediately because he has a track record, a vision of Chanel and a modernity that seduced us,” noted Bruno Pavlovsky – Chanel’s president of fashion and who will oversee Blazy. “We chose the person whose values, talent and vision of women, of our clients, were the best fit for us. And a key point for me was that I sensed great admiration and respect for the heritage and the work done by Mademoiselle Chanel, by Karl and by Virginie.”
Blazy marks the house’s fourth official CD, arriving as the successor to Virginie Viard who exited Chanel last June. Replacing Blazy’s leadership over at Bottega Veneta is Louise Trotter.
