How will Matthieu Blazy revamp storied Chanel’s style?

After a six-month emptiness, Chanel has introduced its new creative director as French-Belgian designer, Matthieu Blazy. However what’s going to he convey to the label?

The 40-year-old artistic head involves the function from the Italian style home, Bottega Veneta, the place he was artistic director from 2021-24.

Succeeding Virginie Viard, a long-time Chanel worker who took over from Karl Lagerfeld after his loss of life in 2019, Blazy is a recent face for the heritage French style home.

“Blazy has such a up to date eye, which is able to assist Chanel join with youthful buyers,” mentioned Oriona Robb, a style stylist who has labored with labels together with Dior and Ferragamo.

“He’s already proven [at Bottega Veneta that] he is aware of use texture, color and design to create items that really feel cool and fascinating. I additionally think about we’ll see him leaning extra into digital storytelling and inventive campaigns to attract in a brand new viewers.”

Bottega Woven Bag (Alamy/PA)

Matthieu Blazy is credited for making Bottega Veneta’s woven bag a cult basic, this is likely one of the many accolades that place him because the seemingly excellent alternative for the luxurious label.

Raised in Paris, Blazy studied on the prestigious La Cambre in Brussels, the place his graduate assortment landed him a job with Raf Simons.

In 2011, Blazy joined Maison Margiela, the place he oversaw the couture and ready-to-wear collections. He then went on to work alongside business greats like Phoebe Philo at Celine, changing into design director of girls’s ready-to-wear at Calvin Klein in 2016.

Blazy joined Bottega Veneta as design director of ready-to-wear in 2020, and when the home’s then-creative director, Daniel Lee, left for Burberry in 2021, Blazy succeeded him as artistic head.

“His design model is minimal and easy,” says style psychologist Shakaila Forbes-Bell.

“His designs after Daniel Lee are very ‘much less is extra’ in my view.”

His refined strategy isn’t simply reserved for aesthetics. Upon changing into artistic head at Bottega Veneta, Blazy introduced an inclusive administration model, which visible artist Anne Collier known as “egalitarian”, and shrank the design staff whereas getting the makers and craftspeople concerned within the artistic course of.

This can be a sudden gear shift for the standard model of Chanel. The final time it confronted such avant-garde reform was when Karl Lagerfeld took over in 1983 to avoid wasting the “near-dead model” following Coco Chanel’s loss of life over 10 years prior.

Lagerfeld reinvented the so-called ‘stuffy’ French label by first integrating the interlocking ‘CC’ monogram into ready-to-wear items and reinventing the Chanel silhouette.

He modernised the conservative swimsuit and skirt set by padding the shoulder, shortening and tightening the skirt, elevating the heel and enlarging or miniaturising the equipment. These have been all extremely controversial strikes because the model’s founder, Coco, had at all times disapproved of above-the-knee skirts.

This experimental and controversial strategy is one thing Blazy has additionally confirmed throughout his time at Bottega Veneta. For instance, in 2021, Blazy launched the trompe-l’œil denim leather-based trousers, which went viral because of Kate Moss’ nonchalant catwalk look paired with a relaxed examine shirt.

Extra memorable items than the denim-looking leather-based trousers was Blazy’s introduction of the ‘Andiamo’ bag and the knitted sock-slippers, which shortly turned cult classics.

Blazy’s skill to create viral trending items put him on the map as a one-to-watch designer. His success in reinventing Bottega’s equipment into timeless classics meant that the luxurious label was the one home within the Kering roster to make a revenue within the conglomerate’s 2023 third quarter. This led to Blazy being dubbed the “Magician of Milan” by style journalist Vanessa Friedman.

Robb added: “What Blazy did at Bottega was so intelligent. He introduced ‘quiet luxurious’ to the forefront, exhibiting that simplicity can nonetheless be thrilling. I think about he’ll convey an analogous vitality to Chanel, maybe firming down a number of the overly flashy parts in favour of impeccable element and high quality. It’s about letting the craftsmanship converse for itself.”

“It’s by no means simple taking up a home with such a robust identification… the most important problem might be preserving Chanel’s DNA intact whereas nonetheless making it related for at this time’s viewers. There’s at all times a threat of alienating purists if he goes too far in pushing boundaries, however I believe Blazy has the subtlety to tug it off.”

Whereas many see Blazy as an ideal match, some say he may push the boundaries too far on the conservative style home. Trend and pattern knowledgeable, Karine Laudort, mentioned: “Chanel’s wealthy historical past may be each a power and a constraint. It will likely be essential to keep up a steadiness between innovation and custom.

“It received’t be simple to comply with within the footsteps of Virginie Viard while upholding Karl Lagerfeld’s monumental legacy, however one can hope Blazy will have the ability to carve his personal path.”

As for Blazy’s path, we’ll have to attend and see what that appears like.