Dear Gossips,
The biggest vacancy in fashion this year has been at Chanel. The house is currently without a creative director after Virginie Viard left, seemingly abruptly, in late spring. Since then, there has been rumour after rumour about who would take over.
And now, the biggest rumour in fashion is that Matthieu Blazy, currently at Bottega Veneta, will be named as the successor, perhaps as early as next week. Some thought it would have already happened – Puck’s Lauren Sherman reported on Monday they may have intended it to be this week but decided to reschedule “out of respect for Patrice Leguéreau, Chanel’s recently deceased fine jewelry designer”.
Still, most fashion insiders seem convinced that Matthieu is the one. WWD was the first to go out with the speculation and a lot of people seem to be hearing the same whispers and there have been no denials.
For Chanel, if this is true, it’s a great choice. In retrospect, if Virginie Viard was there for five years as stability in the immediate aftermath of the death of Karl Lagerfeld, it also took pressure off whoever might be leading the house for the next generation or perhaps multiple generations, considering how long Karl was there. And this, for Chanel, is probably paramount: consistency and also constancy. Karl was at Chanel for over 30 years, this is not a house that’s familiar with revolving doors. In all likelihood, they’re looking for someone who will be their person for a long, long time.
At just 40 years old, Matthieu is exactly at the sweetspot. Before Bottega, even though he could have long been the #1 at other brands, he chose to assume the #2 role and maintain a much lower profile in the shadow of other more well-known designers like Raf Simons, Phoebe Philo, and Daniel Lee, taking his time to figure out his own sh-t.
When Daniel Lee left Bottega, Matthieu finally ascended in 2021, and in the three short years of his reign at Bottega Veneta, it has surged in popularity while maintaining quality and innovation. In September 2022, The New York Times called him the “Magician of Milan” and as we’ve seen, slightly more and more, Bottega looks have been making major headlines in Hollywood… but not indiscriminately.
Most recently it was Jennifer Lawrence in custom Bottega at the Governors Awards in a luscious chocolate brown dress that I singled out from that night.
Back in September, Ayo Edebiri wore custom Bottega to the Emmys, another standout look and, as I said at the time in this post to emphasise what a fashion girly Ayo has become, this is “not a house we hear often on red carpets because they’re very selective, very exclusive”.
Also this fall, another Bottega I pointed out was on Nicole Kidman, SO good.
But of course the biggest name of them all who’s been the most high profile fan of Matthieu’s work at Bottega Veneta: Rihanna. She wore Bottega at the Oscars, she steps out often in Bottega, from shoes to handbags and more.
So Matthieu definitely has what Chanel wants. But, should these rumours really prove to be accurate, the question is whether or not he can operate within the Chanel parameters. This is not about talent but about personality. Chanel has a Customer. She is accustomed to a certain energy. For a house with Chanel’s legacy, that energy, you would think, must be preserved. While preserving its signature, though, it also has to be appeal to a new client, and ready to embrace a vision that takes it beyond the era of Karl Lagerfeld. Balancing those two objectives is the new creative director’s objective. If the fashion insiders are right, Matthieu Blazy is up to the challenge.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
