The way it looks and is styled communicates as extremely 'middle market', not Chanel - Great for a brand like Massimo Dutti, but when you run THE most exclusive, high-esteemed couture maison, it‘s absolutely pivotal for the right kind of context, for the clothes to feel as elevated as the price tag they command. Even the fact that the pre-collection did not receive a proper roll-out as the first delivery of Blazy-designed merchandise feels like a missed opportunity.
Now imagine for a second the kind of context Hedi Slimane created for each of his collections at Celine, with the videos, the highly sophisticated imagery that accompanied every collection. When you don't get the same degree of intent in communication, sophistication in the way it's done and a holistic, visual language, Chanel as a brand loses on it's halo as an institution.
Of all we could see of Blazy-era Chanel so far, all that really speaks for him is his freedom of experimentation. I don't think 'focus' is really something you can expect from him, neither his Bottega Veneta or womenswear at Calvin Klein under Raf (wasn't he the head of womenswear there?) hinted at that.
