BLACKPINK’s Jennie was spotted in Capri over the weekend, leading to speculation that it had something to do with the Jacquemus show that happened today. 

 

The presentation celebrated 15 years of the brand and Jennie’s had a strong connection to designer Simon Porte Jacquemus over the years – and the brand posted photos and videos of her yesterday in anticipation of the anniversary collection lounging at legendary Villa Malaparte which also happened to be the runway. 

 

But then Jennie was also chosen to close the show today in a black backless dress and striped mules, carrying the maison’s new Le Ronde Carré bag: 

 

It’s another example of the influence that Eastern superstars have among luxury fashion houses as almost all of them have recruited major Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Thai celebrities to represent their brands even though western media is slow to catch on.

The other fashion house Jennie is associated with is, of course, Chanel. And there was just a shakeup announced at Chanel last week. Virginie Viard, who was appointed creative director at Chanel after Karl Lagerfeld’s death, is stepping down from the role. At the time, having her succeed Karl made sense, since she’d worked alongside him for so long and they weren’t looking in the aftermath of his passing to go in a dramatic new direction. 

 

But in her time, her collections for Chanel were simply a continuation of Karl, without the spirit of Karl. And under Virginia, Chanel continued to print money. There has been no serious financial loss during her reign. But there has been creative stagnation. Chanel does not have any heat, there hasn’t been any buzz for years. And so, finally, they realised it was time for a change. 

A successor has yet to be confirmed. But there are three major names in the mix: 

Hedi Slimane, John Galliano, and Sarah Burton. Hedi Slimane is currently at Celine and very successful although there have been rumours that he doesn’t get on with the executives at LVMH even though he makes them so much money. (Jennie’s bandmate, Lisa, is dating LVMH’s Frédéric Arnault and she’s a Celine ambassador.) Hedi’s aesthetic is rock and roll, it’d be interesting to see how he’d interpret Chanel to his vibe. 

 

As for Galliano, we’ve seen what Galliano has done at Maison Margiela and how much excitement his collections have generated. It would be a huge full-circle moment for him: fired at Dior, rehabbing his image, leaning all the way into his eclecticism at Margiela, and then landing at Chanel?! A fashion fairy tale. 

And then there’s Sarah Burton who left Alexander McQueen last year. Most casual fashion followers know her most for designing Princess Kate’s wedding dress, but her designs for Kate are among her tamest works. If it were up to me (obviously it’s not), I’d go with her, because it would be so interesting to see the Chanel feminine through her vision. 

This is currently fashion’s biggest mystery: who will take over at Chanel?!