The wait is over: Matthieu Blazy is Chanel’s new creative director

Matthieu Blazy has been appointed as Chanel’s new creative director. ‘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,’ he said in a statement issued this evening.

Since the departure of Virginie Viard from the house this past June – Viard had worked at the house for three decades since the departure of Karl Lagerfeld in 2019 – rumours have swirled through the vaunted halls of Paris’ great houses as to who would become her successor. (There have been rumoured sightings of designers at the Chanel offices, some purportedly high-profile job interviews, and near-endless conjecture and chatter from the front row).

Matthieu Blazy is is Chanel’s new creative director

But the noise is now quieted. Blazy, exiting Italian house Bottega Veneta, will become the latest artistic director of Chanel, arguably fashion’s biggest job (at least, if Lagerfeld was anything to go by, the highest profile). Announced in the wake of Chanel’s Métiers d’art show in Hangzhou, China, Blazy’s appointment will be immediate, with his first show taking place next February during Paris Fashion Week. He will oversee ready-to-wear, accessories and haute couture and design the house’s Cruise and Métiers d’art collection.

Blazy was born in Paris in 1984, before moving to Belgium to study fashion as the prestigious La Cambre school in Brussels (other notable alumni include Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello, Rabanne’s Julien Dossena and Courrèges’ Nicolas Di Felice). An industry stalwart, he went on to work at Raf Simons as men’s designer, at Maison Margiela overseeing the Artisanal line and women’s ready-to-wear, and Celine, under Phoebe Philo.

However, it was at Bottega Veneta – which he joined after briefly working again with Simons when he became creative director at Calvin Klein in 2016 – that would thrust Blazy into the spotlight. Working again behind the scenes as the number two to Daniel Lee during the British designer’s transformative tenure at the house, in 2021, after Lee exited to go to Burberry, Blazy was appointed as creative director.

His critically lauded and commercially successful tenure at the house (in October 2023, it was the only house in the Kering roster to make a profit in the conglomerate’s third quarter) has been defined by a playful use of the house’s historic leather atelier. Notably, his first collection featured a pair of blue denim ‘jeans’ which were actually trompe l’oeil leather; other such visual tricks have featured throughout his collections. Often riffing on quotidien garments in luxurious fashion, his collections have drawn inspiration from the dress codes of the Italian street (his opening trilogy).

His greatest success, though, is bags: his Andiamo handbag, which is crafted from the house’s intreccato woven leather with a looping golden clasp, has become ubiquitous. Other successes have included the Sardine bag (a reference to its metal fish-shaped handle), the Kalimero, and the roomy Hop bag. He has also forged strong links with the design world – collaborators have included Gaetano Pesce, Flos and Cassina – while in October 2024 he launched his first fragrance, encased in a dramatic Murano-glass bottle.

‘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 C in exciting new directions,’ said Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel Fashion and Chanel SAS.

Louise Trotter will succeed Blazy at Bottega Veneta. Trotter joins the house from Carven, where she was appointed as creative director in 2023. ‘I am deeply honoured to join Bottega Veneta as Creative Director. The House’s storied legacy of artistry and innovation is truly inspiring, and I am excited to contribute to its future and celebrate its timeless vision,’ says the British designer.