After a whirlwind departure from Kering’s Bottega Veneta, Matthieu Blazy has been announced as the new artistic director of luxury French fashion house, Chanel.
Coming straight from a three-year tenure at Bottega, Matthieu Blazy will take the helm in the new year, succeeding Karl Lagerfeld and most-recently, Virginie Viard, whose shock exit six months ago had left the position empty, until now.
“I am thrilled and honored to join the wonderful House of Chanel,” the 40-year-old designer said in a statement. “I look forward to meeting all the teams and writing this new chapter together.”
The announcement came almost immediately after it was revealed that the French-Belgian designer would be exiting his role at Bottega Veneta.
Blazy commenced his enviable career as Men’s Designer for Raf Simons, rubbing shoulders with the Belgian designer before departing ways to join Maison Martin Margiela design the ‘Artisanal’ line and the Women’s Ready-To-Wear show.
Although Blazy worked with both Simons and famed British designer John Galliano – who’s just announced shock movements of his own—his career was propelled to new heights when he joined forces with Phoebe Philo at Céline as Senior Designer, arguably one of the most coveted brands at the time.
Most recently, Blazy returned to work with Simons during his tenure at Calvin Klein from 2016 to 2019, before being appointed as Ready To Wear Design Director at Bottega Veneta in 2020.
“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,” Chanel’s fashion president Bruno Pavlovsky said in the release, sharing his excitement around the designer’s “audacious personality, his innovative and powerful approach to creation, as well as his dedication to craftsmanship and beautiful materials.”
Taking his place at Bottega Veneta is British designer Louise Trotter, who will take over from Blazy in the new year.
Blazy is set to join Chanel by April 2025, ahead of a debut collection slated for release next September.
More to come.
