Chanel Appoints Matthieu Blazy As Artistic Director

Chanel has appointed Matthieu Blazy as its artistic director of the house’s fashion activities, responsible for all haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessories collections, the house announced on Thursday, putting an end to months of intense speculation. He will report to Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel Fashion and Chanel SA.

Alain Wertheimer, global executive chairman, and Leena Nair, global CEO of Chanel, called the designer in a joint statement “one of the most gifted designers of his generation”. “His vision and talent will reinforce the energy of the brand and our position as a leader in luxury. Under Bruno Pavlovsky’s leadership, we are confident that Matthieu Blazy will continue to shape what’s next and write a new page in Chanel’s creation,” they said.

“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,” Pavlovsky said. “His audacious personality, his innovative and powerful approach to creation, as well as his dedication to craftsmanship and beautiful materials, will take Chanel in exciting new directions.”

Following the sudden departure of Virginie Viard from Chanel in June 2024, the job has remained vacant, culminating in an avalanche of rumours surrounding who would end up with what is arguably the most coveted job in fashion. In the past six months, designers from Hedi Slimane to Simon Porte Jacquemus were considered front runners.

Blazy, who joins from Bottega Veneta, has an impeccable track record, making him well suited to the role at Chanel, which involves designing 10 collections per year (two ready-to-wear, two couture, two pre-collections, one cruise, one Métiers d’art, plus Coco Beach and Coco Neige). The Paris-born, 40-year-old designer graduated from Brussels’s La Cambre in 2007 and has held designer stints at Raf Simons and Maison Margiela, where he earned his couture stripes designing the brand’s Artisanal line and gained recognition for his work. In 2014, he became senior designer at Céline, under Phoebe Philo, before reuniting with Raf Simons at Calvin Klein as VP of design for womenswear and menswear from 2016 to 2019. In 2020, he became Daniel Lee’s right hand at Bottega Veneta as design director. After Lee’s sudden exit, he was appointed creative director in 2021 and presented his first collection for the Italian house in February 2022.

Under Blazy, Bottega Veneta became one of Milan’s hottest brands, with a strong focus on craftsmanship. The brand has proved particularly resilient in the luxury downturn. Sales were up four per cent in the first nine months of 2024 to €1.23 billion, making it the top-performing brand among Kering’s fashion houses. The spring/summer 2025 show was well received, with standouts including deliberately creased pieces, striped shirting, fluid all-leather paillette evening dresses and more. Earlier on Thursday, Bottega Veneta announced that Louise Trotter would succeed him as creative director of the Italian house.

Chanel will be a much bigger test for the designer. The company’s revenues hit $19.7 billion in 2023, up 16 per cent year on year, making it the world’s second-largest luxury brand behind Louis Vuitton. (The fashion business, including bags, ready-to-wear and footwear, generated roughly $14 billion, according to estimates by HSBC managing director Erwan Rambourg.) The company, now led by CEO Leena Nair, has doubled revenues in the last decade and this appointment will play a key role in the next phase of growth – not to add to the pressure of earning the job.

“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,” Blazy said. He will join the house in 2025.

Bottega Veneta Taps British Designer Louise Trotter As Creative Director

Louise Trotter will succeed Matthieu Blazy as Bottega Veneta creative director, parent company Kering and Bottega Veneta announced today in a joint release.

“Her aesthetic seamlessly combines exquisite design with sublime craft, and her commitment to cultural advocacy aligns beautifully with our brand vision,” Bottega Veneta chief executive Bartolomeo Rongone said in a statement. “Through her sophisticated lens, Bottega Veneta will continue to celebrate its heritage while preserving modern relevance.”

Francesca Bellettini, Kering deputy CEO in charge of brand development, added: “Louise brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to Bottega Veneta’s tradition of bold creativity and unparalleled excellence. She is the ideal creative talent to carry forward, alongside Leo Rongone and the Bottega Veneta team, the remarkable journey initiated with Matthieu Blazy, to whom I extend my heartfelt gratitude for his visionary creativity.”

Trotter joins from French heritage brand Carven, where she has been creative director since February 2023. Before that, she was creative director of Lacoste between October 2018 and January 2023, following a nine-year stint at Joseph. She joins Bottega Veneta with the brief to build on Matthieu Blazy’s strong legacy at the house.

Blazy joined Bottega Veneta in 2020 as design director and was appointed creative director in November 2021 after Daniel Lee’s sudden exit. Under Blazy, Bottega Veneta became one of Milan’s hottest brands, and has proven particularly resilient in the luxury slowdown, being the top performing brand among Kering’s fashion houses. Sales were up 4 per cent in the first nine months of 2024 to €1.23 billion, which is no mean feat in today’s environment and a relief for the conglomerate while its largest brand, Gucci, has been navigating a turnaround.

The spring/summer 2025 show was well received, with deliberately creased pieces, striped shirting and a fluid all-leather paillette evening dress among standouts. The playful show, set with animal-shaped bean bags and featuring an energetic front row, also highlighted the brand’s marketing savvy. “In his two and a half years at the label, Blazy has turned Bottega Veneta into the show of Milan Fashion Week,” wrote Vogue Runway and Vogue Business global director Nicole Phelps.

“I also want to express my profound appreciation for Matthieu, who has been an extraordinary partner in infusing our brand with desirability, emotional resonance and intellectual identity,” said Rongone.

In her three seasons at Carven, Trotter managed to inject new energy into the house, owned by China’s ICCF Group. “Carven’s Louise Trotter is finding her groove,” British Vogue’s Julia Hobbs wrote this summer. Fashion consultant Julie Gilhart told me after Trotter’s debut show at Carven: “It feels sophisticated and chic, wearable, and I am sure it will sell in the stores.”

Her “quiet luxury” aesthetic, mixed with a sense of femininity and coolness, appears to be the right fit for Bottega Veneta. Trotter will be the only female designer at the creative helm of a Kering-owned fashion house following the departure of Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen.

“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,” Trotter said. She will join Bottega Veneta at the end of January 2025.

John Galliano Is Leaving Margiela

As it turns out, the internet-breaking Maison Margiela Artisanal show in January was John Galliano’s swansong at the house. The designer is leaving after 10 years, he announced in a heartfelt post on Instagram.

For now, Galliano is tight lipped on his next move. “The rumours…Everyone wants to know and everyone wants to dream. When the time is right, all will be revealed,” the designer wrote. “For now I take this time to express my immense gratitude. I continue to atone and will never stop dreaming.”

Galliano was appointed creative director at Margiela in 2014, his first posting since his scandalous exit from Dior in 2011. (His redemption journey was charted in the documentary High and Low: John Galliano, released in March this year on Amazon Prime). Since then, he’s taken the cult label, beloved of art and fashion insiders under incredibly private founder Martin Margiela, to new heights.

“Working with John was one of the most significant and impactful experiences of my life. He mentored me and showed me his vision, enriching me culturally and allowing me to bring some of that vision and culture to the rest of the Group,” said Renzo Rosso, chairman of Maison Margiela owner OTB Group in a statement released today. “I feel privileged to have worked with two legends like Martin [Margiela] and John. Martin made this house a reference and an icon, John made it the most cutting-edge couture house in the world.”

Galliano’s cultural impact and technical and inventive Margiela creations have had a halo effect on the brand as a whole, Rosso told Vogue Business in a recent interview. OTB took full ownership of the brand in 2006. Founder Margiela retired in 2009, and the label was run by an anonymous team (one that for a time included Bottega Veneta creative director Matthieu Blazy) until Galliano’s appointment.

OTB doesn’t break out revenues, but Margiela sales grew 23 per cent in 2023, even before the January show. Similarly, sales grew 24 per cent in the 2021-2022 period. An example of Galliano’s impact is that the Tabi, the iconic Margiela shoe originally launched in 1988, has become ubiquitous on the streets of Paris, London, New York and other major fashion capitals in recent years since he’s boosted brand awareness. The shoe even became the subject of a viral story on TikTok, in which a New York man stole a pair after a date, which was covered by Vogue, Dazed and The New York Times. There are 26.5 million posts that mention “Tinder tabi thief” on the platform.

Widely revered as one of fashion’s most talented couturiers, Galliano creates a world and a story behind his clothes. He famously briefs his models on the entire backstory of their look, from Kate Moss as a runaway princess (John Galliano spring/summer 1994) to Gwendoline Christie as a sultry doll in the most recent Margiela couture show (spring/summer 2024).

Speculation continues to swirl about Galliano’s next move. But any other appointment, particularly at the big LVMH or Kering houses, would certainly be a change of pace for the designer. In a fashion world dominated by novelty, clickbait and low-hanging fruit, as most luxury houses churn out in excess of six collections a year, Galliano has remained staunchly dedicated to slower, intricately considered fashion. At times, Margiela has shown sporadically over recent years, in line with Galliano’s own schedule rather than the break-neck fashion calendar.

As for the empty seat at Margiela, the rumour mill has already been churning. When asked about Glenn Martens’s work at Diesel in a recent Vogue Business interview, OTB’s Rosso likened him to Galliano: “It’s really thanks to Glenn that [Diesel] is becoming so cool, so fantastic,” he said. “Glenn is a couturier, not just a designer. Like John Galliano, couturiers have a different way of designing. Every single piece has a story to tell.”

Fourteen years sober today, Galliano is humble about the opportunity Margiela and Rosso afforded him. “Gratitude to my fashion family for this life-saving creative moment and the safe place we have built together. My teams, whose support has been tender and courageous, have walked with me along this narrow pathway to the here and now.”

Rosso is confident in the future of Margiela, building on Galliano’s legacy. “Our industry has a habit of thinking in decades and these 10 years of incredibly intense work, amazing shows and installations, extraordinarily beautiful product, have laid the foundations for the future of Maison Margiela, which I am very excited about,” he said in a statement. “I wish my dear friend John the best of everything, and I know that there will be other projects for us to collaborate in the future.”

Dries Van Noten Finally Names A Successor

The long wait is over: six months after beloved designer Dries Van Noten presented his last collection, his eponymous house has appointed Julian Klausner as creative director – in charge of women’s and men’s collections. The 33-year-old Belgian designer, who has worked alongside Dries Van Noten on the women’s collections since 2018, “represents a natural connection between the past and the future”, the house said in a statement on Monday.

“I have complete confidence in Julian’s creativity and vision,” Dries Van Noten added. “He is not only a talented designer but also a clear choice to take over after my departure. His deep understanding of the brand and its values will ensure a seamless transition and a bright future,” he added.

By promoting from within and choosing a relatively young Belgian designer, the Puig-owned house shows it values continuity over disruption. After graduating in fashion design from Brussels’s renowned visual arts school La Cambre in 2016, Klausner began his career as a junior designer at Maison Margiela before joining Dries Van Noten in August 2018 as womenswear designer. He now has big shoes to fill.

A member of the Antwerp Six collective, Van Noten launched his men’s line in Antwerp in 1986 and, in 1993, brought his brand, with the addition of a womenswear line, to the Paris runways. “I’m known for colour and prints and embroideries,” he told Vogue in 2007. “Normally the more clashing it is, the more that I like it.”

In 2018, Van Noten sold a majority stake to the Spanish beauty and fashion conglomerate Puig (which began trading as a listed company in May 2024) but continued his role as chief creative officer. In 2022, the designer launched his first beauty line under Puig. In June 2024, after a final celebratory show for a crowd that included many other fashion designers and journalists, he stepped down from day-to-day operations. The spring/summer 2025 women’s collect ion presented in September 2024 was designed by the house’s studio. Van Noten sat front row, however, a little hidden, closer to backstage, as he didn’t want his presence to overshadow the work of his colleagues.

Reflecting on the evolution of the role of a creative director in an interview with Vogue Business back in June, he said that designing for Dries Van Noten “is not like a job where you can do just the big lines. It’s very hands on. It’s somebody who really breathes the love for garments and beauty, really enjoys being busy with fabrics and all those things – not somebody who thinks about marketing”. Having spent a significant part of his career at the house, Klausner will have experienced those values firsthand.

“The incomparable legacy that Dries is leaving behind is monumental, serving as an endless source of precious inspiration. I look forward to embarking on new ambitious challenges while honouring the heritage we all cherish,” Klausner said.

Puig doesn’t break down sales of individual brands, but said in its third-quarter earnings statement that its niche brands, which include Dries Van Noten, Byredo and Penhaligon’s saw “increasing momentum” and “delivered double-digit growth”.

Klausner will present his first women’s collection as creative director on 5 March during Paris Fashion Week. The house will skip the runway show during Paris men’s week in January and instead will present it in a lookbook directed by Klausner. His first men’s show is slated for June 2025.