Virginie Viard Is Exiting Chanel
The French luxury house confirms the news and that teams within the organization have been informed earlier today of her departure.
After half a decade as Chanel‘s creative director, Virginie Viard is exiting the brand. The French luxury heritage fashion house has confirmed to the Business of Fashion and the company has said that a new creative direction “will be announced in due course.”Chanel released statement via email late Wednesday night that read,
“Chanel confirms the departure of Virginie Viard after a rich collaboration of five years as Artistic Director of Fashion collections, during which she was able to renew the codes of the House while respecting the creative heritage of Chanel, and almost thirty years within the House.”
Prior to her creative director role, Viard had worked with Karl Lagerfeld for many years. A long time deputy of Lagerfeld who joined the house in 1987, Viard took over the creative head following the German designer’s death in 2019. During her tenure, Chanel reported historic surges in sales that saw 2023 revenues of $19.7 billion USD up more than 75% over 2018. The house also reported that ready-to-wear sales expanded by a factor of 2.5 in comparison to 2018. Viard continued to carry on Lagerfeld’s legacy in subtly re-tailoring the signature tweed jacket. However, it seems that it might not have been enough as Chanel has been subject to online criticism over its quality to price ratio.
At this time, Chanel has not announced Viard’s replacement.
