Matthieu Blazy Makes Total Sense For Chanel And Its Customer, Here’s Why

The newly-appointed designer ends a six-month-long search for Chanel’s next creative head.

Matthieu Blazy Chanel Bottega Veneta — Photo: © Catwalkpictures.com

By Aaron Kok WQ - published 13 Dec 2024

After six long months of speculation about the top creative role at Chanel, the House announced today that they are moving into a new era with the appointment of Matthieu Blazy.

In a note to the press, Bruno Pavlovsky, the president of Chanel, talked about how he was “delighted to welcome Matthieu Blazy. I am convinced that he will be able to play with the codes and heritage of the House”.

Pavlovsky also highlighted Blazy’s “audacious personality, his innovative and powerful approach to creation, as well as his dedication to craftsmanship and beautiful materials” as key to taking Chanel into its exciting next chapter.

Blazy entered the social media discourse as a potential candidate for the job in the middle of November, and as soon as this began gaining traction online, reactions were split down the middle.

On one hand, there was a camp of onlookers brimming with excitement about the possibility of a Blazy-led era at Chanel, and the other camp fervently against it because they weren’t sure his love for clean lines and modernity was something that would work for Chanel.

As for us, we’re steadfastly with the former. Here’s why the French-Belgian designer’s appointment is a perfect match with Chanel and her customer.

An Excellence In Craft

If there’s one thing that we’ve come to know of Blazy for Bottega Veneta, it’s that you can always expect him to deliver big on craft. Blazy, who cut his teeth under the guidance of Phoebe Philo at CELINE and at Maison Margiela before that, has always had a penchant for pushing the idea of art and fashion as a synonym.

Past Bottega Veneta collections from Blazy have seen the designer do everything from thick pelts of fringe to fastidious embellishment and leather that has been obsessively dyed to resemble something as plain as flannel. There’s an elevation to the technique that has endeared Blazy to the fashion crowd and customer, because rarely has it been that a designer is able to create something so alluringly creative without compromising on its commercial appeal. For Blazy, creative and commercial aren’t polar opposite choices.

With the ability to now tap on Chanel’s wide-spanning ateliers and their rich history of time-acquired skill in the world of crafted excellence, it will be fascinating to see how Blazy brings his eye for artsy, tactile clothing to the store racks of Chanel boutiques everywhere.

Blazy’s Commercial Success

The slowdown in luxury has been an inescapable piece of news that’s plagued the industry for much of this year. Yet in spite of that, Blazy’s work at Bottega Veneta has defied the industry trend, with third quarter sales proving that customers are pining for Blazy’s creative vision as revenue rose up 4 percent and increased 5 percent on a comparable basis.

But what does this mean for the customer? Sure, revenue reports don’t exactly sway a person into swiping a credit card at the point of sale, but if anything, it mirrors a larger conversation between a brand and their customer. Chanel’s customers are discerning, which is why they’ve always trusted the House to deliver chic collections with an attention to quality. If one was to look into a crystal ball based on Bottega Veneta’s revenue reports, one could derive this: Blazy will continue to uphold that mettle for the Chanel buyer when he joins the brand in 2025.

His Midas Touch With Accessories

Here’s one big thing that Chanel customers will appreciate: Blazy knows how to make a good accessory. After all, Chanel is the House that has brought us the iconic chain flap bags, countless lustworthy jewellery, and so on. Remember that pair of double-C flanked espadrilles that went viral several times and consistently sold out?

Blazy’s no stranger to a viral accessory as well. Under his care, Bottega Veneta’s bag repertoire saw the inclusion of new styles like the Andiamo and the Sardine. The former is a favourite of Hollywood, with every stylish star from Jacob Elordi and Michelle Yeoh seen toting it on the streets of Los Angeles.

On a summer trip this year, I spent about an hour leisurely exploring the Bottega Veneta boutique in Rome. There, I had the chance to meet a mother-and-daughter pair shopping, and both were buying matching bags.

Blazy’s work with accessories speaks for itself, and it’s able to appeal to a different set of generations. And with Chanel, a House with over a century of legacy, it’s the brand that girls everywhere aspire to own one day and women everywhere look to as one of the defining pillars of style. It’s also this ability to speak the same language to different shoppers of different ages that makes Blazy work for a Maison as historic as Chanel.

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House Codes Made Fresh

This also leads us to our next point: Chanel and her dictionary of Chanel-isms are known to many. There’s the camelia, the number 5, the tweed and so on. The House’s codes are as famous as the House’s founder herself. What Blazy has been able to demonstrate is his ability to take the codes of the brand that he’s working at, and push it in a way that feels consistently fresh and exciting.

At Bottega Veneta, arguably the most iconic of the brand’s codes is the intrecciato and boy, did Blazy run with it. He reimagined it as a print, as a pair of trousers, as an ultra lightweight canvas, and so on. They were fresh, fun, and more importantly, got people’s attention. Now, imagine what he could do with the breadth of Chanel’s storied codes? The sky’s truly the limit, and we’re already anxious to see how Chanel’s Blazy-led era.