Discussion: Who Should Be The Creative Director of Chanel?

[Xone]

The problem with their design team is its very very obvious that they are all trying to steal the spotlight from each other rather than having 1 cohesive vision. Otherwise they are quite talented

who are they anyway?....

 

[PDFSD]

20 years later this old arte mini doc shows how consistent Hedi has been with 99% of his approach and also similarities of KL approach to Chanel running it like a machine.

KL on HEDI approach of brand and person behind it the personification of a style :



HEDI on why he goes for big fashion houses./also the subject of obsession with fitting and cut of clothes


Work ethic like KL doing multiple things and be working well in advance and having a chill working vibe much like KL and VV had.
also the subject of obsession with fitting and cut of clothes



Just like Karl his photographic eye was part of his creative output. architecture and people



my only doubt is that Chanel is not grounded in music as this is Hedi´s main starting point

 

[justpassingthrough]

The fashion house founded by Gabrielle Chanel will announce in December who will succeed Virginie Viard as creative director.
The choice will reflect a new balance of power and a change of generation within the famed brand.

View attachment 1322758

If they announce a CD before Christmas it’s strictly lumps of coal for my friend who told me otherwise

 

[Foxie-Pooh]

20 years later this old arte mini doc shows how consistent Hedi has been with 99% of his approach and also similarities of KL approach to Chanel running it like a machine.

KL on HEDI approach of brand and person behind it the personification of a style :
View attachment 1322916View attachment 1322921


HEDI on why he goes for big fashion houses./also the subject of obsession with fitting and cut of clothes
View attachment 1322917View attachment 1322918

Work ethic like KL doing multiple things and be working well in advance and having a chill working vibe much like KL and VV had.
also the subject of obsession with fitting and cut of clothes
View attachment 1322920View attachment 1322922
View attachment 1322928View attachment 1322929

Just like Karl his photographic eye was part of his creative output. architecture and people
View attachment 1322923View attachment 1322919


my only doubt is that Chanel is not grounded in music as this is Hedi´s main starting point
View attachment 1322925View attachment 1322927View attachment 1322926View attachment 1322924

How many hairlines ago was this from? Post-DH?

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

I promise this is not the case

Also, you don’t see Phoebe but you see Lacroix? Lacroix is the anti fashion in 2024.

I love him but no brand would want him.

I don't see Phoebe because she is now very busy with her own project, but when she left Céline my dream was to have her at Chanel.
Gabrielle Chanel made a revolution simplifying things and dressing the modern woman. I saw a parallel there with Phoebe.

Lacroix is more my wish to have a real old school couturier with limitless phantasy to make art without worrying about money.
I saw not so many years ago at the opera his costumes for Leonard Bernstein's Candide and they were awesome.

But you are right. If they want to give creative carte blanche to an old couturier, they would call Galliano.

 

[nationalsalt]

For the rest of the names, Pierpaolo, Marc, Phoebe, Jacquemus, Olivier R., Olivier T., Riccardo, John, Nicolas, Guillaume Henry... I don't see any of them, for a variety of reasons, mostly not related to the quality of their work.

What are the reasons? 😉

 

[PDFSD]

How many hairlines ago was this from? Post-DH?

ARTE TV 2004​

HEDI SLIMANE MY LIFE (MEIN LEBEN)
Film Released:31 July 2004 (Germany)
Dior homme era

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

Some of them are too tied with current projects (Nicolas, Phoebe , Olivier R.).
Some of them are too elusive (Phoebe, Guillaume, Olivier T.) to feel comfortable at Chanel. If we follow Lola's distinction, they are Alaïa-type, not Lagerfeld.
Some others might be past their prime, some others might not be mature enough, some others might have done in the past mistakes that still could affect heavily being considered for the position, some others might be too far away from the codes of the maison, some others might be not French enough...

 

[PDFSD]

If they announce a CD before Christmas it’s strictly lumps of coal for my friend who told me otherwise

Can be still what your friend said,
For me a new balance of power can be just a fancy way of saying they will continue with studio team and naming the team embers that will do it per devion like acc and rtw etc and not have a sole CD.

 

[audace]

I feel like many people just throw out there possibilities for the sake of adding another thread to the discussion without much consideration of how many things work, but in particular: brand image. Within the current roster I see only two people handling the work: Hedi or Nicolas, with Hedi being much more fitting.

Chanel is, first of all, separate from all the big ones, it is its own. Nicolas is doing still well at LV, but I don't think his design language would translate too well into Chanel. He is very experimental, playful and strong on themes, but less so on personal touch. Also, bite me, but his tailoring is often slouchy and all around not good, it is just not his forte. Him and LV are a perfect match that should not be disturbed.

Hedi has the same principles as Karl, he is the best tailor currently available and he is way more of a personality. If they want a new Karl, he would be fit for the role, especially that he has enough years ahead of him to fulfil just that role. He also has a history with Dior, YSL and now Celine, it is a very similar trajectory with Karl and Balmain, Patou, Chloe, Fendi... They share string personalities and the desire for a lot of control, the difference is just that Karl is more playful and Hedi is razor-sharp.

Chanel should be put back on the map as The (!) luxury house, not what it is now with overexposure, strange direction, being outdated and mediocre at the same time, and losing its exclusivity. Chanel lacks refinement beyond its history and pricing.

Finally, I do not think that Galliano and many others are in the talks. Chanel is the core brand of French fashion, I do think that it being not owned by the conglomerate and being the "special" kid would nearly guarantee that it should be taken over by someone French, which John, Phoebe, Marc, and etc. are not.

LVMH can play with LV, Dior, Loewe, Celine, etc., because at the end of the day they are ones of many, existing as a symbiosis of companies under Bernard and co., Chanel is a different situation from all aspects: image, uniqueness, business operations. I think a lot of people do not take that part into account and approach it just as any other fashion brand.

Some choices are obvious and there is no need to overcomplicate things. The largest crowds of fashion people see that Hedi is the best option, despite liking and wanting other designers. I think they should go with the path of least resistance here. Strong control, quality and amazing tailoring is what people need right now of Chanel.

Jacquemus... I do get why that may be, but, personally, if that happens, even without seeing the clothes, just on the level of personality and experience of Jacquemus, Chanel would experience a huge drop in my eyes in terms of prestige. I'd, again, personally, stay away from Chanel if that happens.

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

ARTE TV 2004​

HEDI SLIMANE MY LIFE (MEIN LEBEN)
Film Released:31 July 2004 (Germany)
Dior homme era

Thanks a lot for this.

Ich hasse, die zwei Stimmen gleichzeitig zu hoeren/ Je haïs entendre les deux voix à la fois.
Why didn't they subtitle it?

To have both Karl in love at your feet and David Bowie singing your name in praise is quite something.

Hedi himself is very magnetic.

 

[HigthaVandah]

How many hairlines ago was this from? Post-DH?

Here we go again (lol)...

 

[Xone]

The fashion house founded by Gabrielle Chanel will announce in December who will succeed Virginie Viard as creative director.
The choice will reflect a new balance of power and a change of generation within the famed brand.

View attachment 1322758just one month away....lol

 

[HigthaVandah]

Hedi himself is very magnetic.

Hedi barely exists at all as a public figure, and yet the baggage that gets projected onto the idea of him has been growing steadily throughout his career.

I'm calling it now: If Hedi goes to Chanel, there'll be a push to cancel him based exclusively on the cultural baggage and anxieties that have become attached to his name over the years. Not based on anything Hedi the person has actually said or done.

 

[fashionlov]

It's strange indeed but I see Hedi Slimane a bit like Lagerfeld who shoots his own campaigns in a commercial way and designs clothes, let me say, wonderful. I think at this point the appointment seems a bit obvious to me after Slimane left Celine.

 

[PDFSD]

Coco Chanel's final days​

on her style based on slender silhouette (much like hedi does )

 

[jeanclaude]

my only doubt is that Chanel is not grounded in music as this is Hedi´s main starting point

Hey, he has this to get inspired. He could make rock, trance, grunge versions of it!!



Qui qu´a vu Hedi (I love twinks remix).

 

[tourbillions]

Did our beloved volft return? So many "receipts"

If people really think that the Chanel woman in 2025 is that narrow and limited then Hedi is what they deserve.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Whenever I look at the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel (not Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel), I think of the practicality and comfort of menswear, of a precursor of what later be considered 'American Sportswear', of a narrow, natural shoulder line and certain straightness of the cut. Her natural successor several decades later would have been Jil Sander and it’s that pragmatism and purism that I think could be a plausible antidote to the 'humor' of Karl, which really came from his inimitable personality and noone else’s.

With all that in mind, I would not mind if Chanel went back to the very origin of Gabrielle Chanel and take her legacy to a different place than Karl - It’s here that I think Hedi or anyone with a decidedly more sober aesthetical point of view would make sense (had Bouchra Jarrar enjoyed a successful tenure at Lanvin, she could now be a strong contender for this job) - Making it the polar opposite of Dior’s romantism and 'Femme Fleur' idea would be great, along with that emphasizing the art deco, a sense of modernity, a sense of cleanness and a modernized 1920iee ethos that would make dressing in Dior look like a foolish frivolity.

For me the job doesn’t need to go necessarily to Hedi but to somebody who does not link Chanel with the tacky 90ies Chanel, super market shows and the 'funny' accessories associated with Karl’s shows. Less of the pastels and in with a bit more sharpness and cleanness!

 

[Frederic01]

but customer fatigue with a luxury industry that seems increasingly banal, CHANEL Watches and Jewellery president Frédéric Grangié told Swiss newspaper Le Temps.

Chanel is probably the instigator of this problem TBH. Karl went on a rampage with his 10-12 collections a year, which put pressure on the other houses to start doing Pre-Collections and Resort Collections and Pre-Fall collections and Ski-Collections and Beach Collections, etc etc, and now we have way too many collections and hence luxury fatigue.

For fashion to be exciting again, it needs to produce less and to show less. Maybe three collections a year maximum: Fall/Winter, Resort, and Spring/Summer. Any more than that and it just becomes very repetitive and banal. No brand has that much to say, not even Chanel.

We are now seeing the same Chanel stories being repeated time and time again to the point where I am starting to question whether there is much more to be said at the house. How many more times can we see a Chanel tweed jacket reworked? And that apartment on Rue Cambon? And the Ritz Hotel? It's been done 100000000000 times before and I really don't think you can top what Karl did. Hedi's black and white photography and attention to branding is not enough to save this brand.

It's sad to say, but I think CHANEL has reached its apex. The brand's time has passed and long ago. As Frédéric Grangié said, the world has fashion fatigue. We are in a moment of overexposure, too many shows, ridiculous prices, etc etc. The conditions to create superb fashion no longer exist.

I could not even imagine the commercial pressure on whoever comes next to CHANEL. Imagine having the weight of an $20 billion dollar brand on your back. It's crazy!