Discussion: Who Should Be The Creative Director of Chanel?

[Nimsay]

right now Chanel only has Marc Jacobs, John Galliano and Hedi Slimane as contenders.

Phoebe and Ricardo are 2nd tier because they've never stepped into 1st tier labels...for Celine and Givenchy, being successful wasn't a requirement...

John would be best at Fendi. He made it clear that the needs of a Super House like Dior or Chanel are beyond his bandwidth. Fendi is the best we can reasonably expect from him since there is only RTW and the Haute Fourrure shows once a year.

...at this point if Hedi or Marc is not chosen ... Chanel has nobody who can produce credible haute couture.

 

[vogue22]

right now Chanel only has Marc Jacobs, John Galliano and Hedi Slimane as contenders.

Phoebe and Ricardo are 2nd tier because they've never stepped into 1st tier labels...for Celine and Givenchy, being successful wasn't a requirement...

John would be best at Fendi. He made it clear that the needs of a Super House like Dior or Chanel are beyond his bandwidth. Fendi is the best we can reasonably expect from him since there is only RTW and the Haute Fourrure shows once a year.

...at this point if Hedi or Marc is not chosen ... Chanel has nobody who can produce credible haute couture.

Do you really think the Wertheimers would choose someone as unstable as Marc to fill the role of CD for a historic parisian couture house that would have to stay at least 10 years as such?

 

[blueorchid]

Galliano at FENDI? Can we get back to reality, PLEASE.

 

[Kimihiro]

What do they mean by ‘long-term’? I think Karl is an unreasonable standard for that.

 

[LadyJunon]

What do they mean by ‘long-term’? I think Karl is an unreasonable standard for that.

I'm imagining 10 to 12 years, 15 years max. I don't think we'll have another 40-year tenure like Karl.

right now Chanel only has Marc Jacobs, John Galliano and Hedi Slimane as contenders.

Phoebe and Ricardo are 2nd tier because they've never stepped into 1st tier labels...for Celine and Givenchy, being successful wasn't a requirement...

John would be best at Fendi. He made it clear that the needs of a Super House like Dior or Chanel are beyond his bandwidth. Fendi is the best we can reasonably expect from him since there is only RTW and the Haute Fourrure shows once a year.

...at this point if Hedi or Marc is not chosen ... Chanel has nobody who can produce credible haute couture.

The issue with Chanel is that HC isn't just window dressing with a red carpet operation like most businesses. Chanel HC may only make up a small part of the brand's revenue, but it's an actual business with an actual clientele.

 

[Living Proof]

It was heavily rumoured that Chanel considered an outside hire back in 2018 after Karl became unwell, and Phoebe was one of the top candidates, so I highly doubt she’d be seen as second tier. Bottom line is, she just started a business that’s still finding its footing, she’s not gonna take a job of this magnitude, just not happening.

 

[Vikingtop]

Phoebe Philo also has family.... i do not see her moving to Paris or going to Paris from London often...

Regular collections, haute couture, metier art collection..... i do not see her wanting that much work-load.....

To be honest.... i think she is quite happy with doing some fashion and selling it online........ regardless of its financial success.

 

[Lola701]

What I will may sound controversial but imo
Marc Jacobs and John Galliano are only seen as serious contenders by people on the internet and nostalgic people in the industry that don’t understand the challenges of the current climate.
They aren’t even credible names RN.

They create runway moments but brands needs more today. Are they currently the best representation for a brand?

 

[style_expert]

^I agree.

Marc Jacobs is hardly relevant today, let alone for Chanel. The problem with him is that he kept lingering around for too long. Had he 'disappeared' entirely for a while, there could have been a comeback story of sorts. Now he's just there all the time and people don't really care that much.
Galliano for Chanel, don't even think about it indeed.

I feel like Bruno Pavlovsky initially gave many hints which did absolutely not lead to Hedi. So much that the opposite may be true. Now he's talking about a 360 degree vision and a product-driven vision. The timing of the whole Celine/Hedi announcement may be a coincidence but I'm not ruling Hedi out yet. Miss Tweed help us out once again

From a marketing and prestige POV, they should have been talking to Phoebe Philo for sure. Never mind her own line and the work load, no one is entirely immune to what Chanel can offer, financially and in additional terms.

 

[Beun]

I reiterate that Chitose Abe, Matthieu Blazy, Nicolas di Felice or Marie-Adam Leenaerdt would be great

 

[JeanAvril]

We have to put this discussion on rice for a bit. Why is CHANEL so revered? In my opinion, it's because of the the theatrics, and not the clothes. This brand has always been dowdy, but Lagerfeld intuitively knew what he could shape and mold and create into something that could be invigorating. The theatrics imbued the technicality of the clothes, and vice-versa. The set-design of this season kinda proved that. Better clothes in *years*, but it felt so hollow. Because no-one knows what fashion is anymore. The importance of it. The fantasy of it. The Grand-Palais is boring. Monaco is boring. Everything is boring.

 

[yslforever]

I reiterate that Chitose Abe, Matthieu Blazy, Nicolas di Felice or Marie-Adam Leenaerdt would be great

Plus Mame Kurogouchi on the list.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

Everybody knows the answer

 

[Olaffo]

^ that’s gonna be Lindsay Lohan ?


Btw, love your profile pic @susseinmcswanny !

 

[Lola701]

We have to put this discussion on rice for a bit. Why is CHANEL so revered? In my opinion, it's because of the the theatrics, and not the clothes. This brand has always been dowdy, but Lagerfeld intuitively knew what he could shape and mold and create into something that could be invigorating. The theatrics imbued the technicality of the clothes, and vice-versa. The set-design of this season kinda proved that. Better clothes in *years*, but it felt so hollow. Because no-one knows what fashion is anymore. The importance of it. The fantasy of it. The Grand-Palais is boring. Monaco is boring. Everything is boring.

But the job is big because of what Lagerfeld achieved.
Before him, the most important and revered brand was Dior and it was somewhat understood that the life of a brand could end when the founders and owners wanted to close it all.

The thing is that, in his last decade, Karl made transformed Chanel into a larger than life spectacle and maybe people forgot that the set only worked because they were in sync with the clothes. The set helped to put the clothes, the codes into a new context each season. Ultimately, Chanel is about certain codes that people want and expect to see every season…

With Virginie, the sets were OK. But suddenly the clothes weren’t even OK. We saw cracks into the system. When I look at the resort in LA, fabulous set and fabulous mood but the clothes were terrible.

Unfortunately, from her last collection to this one, people realize that without the proper clothes and a proper set to contextualize the whole thing, it feels cheap.

The collection would have probably looked better if it was shown in the salons at Rue Cambon…

But what is happening at Chanel is a reminder that no matter what people say, the clothes do matter. What makes the brand hot, is doing great collections that people buy or dream to buy.

I’m part of a generation that grew up at the time when Chanel shows were entertaining without being spectacles. It was all about the clothes, the mood of the season, the models and the music…
Even though I have been to many Chanel shows at Le Grand Palais where the spectacle and the clothes created a moment, the best shows for me remained the ones where Karl « flexed » his creativity.

And Karl was right in the sense that you need to have an ongoing conversation with fashion to survive. This is what the brand needs. Chanel does not need to move fashion forward, it needs to be in the middle.

 

[Olaffo]

^ I honestly don’t know who could fill Karl’s shoes now. VV was a failed tenure so it’s kind of write off. I’m sure we will learn the name soon…

 

[blueorchid]

Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect a Karl

 

[avonlea002]

We will probably never get a designer like Karl. I don't think the world we are living in now is able to produce a creative like him.
It's sad how this generation of people who experienced fashion history first hand and basically created the industry is nearly gone.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

Michelle Obama

 

[Lola701]

^ I honestly don’t know who could fill Karl’s shoes now. VV was a failed tenure so it’s kind of write off. I’m sure we will learn the name soon…

The question shouldn’t be around Karl but around someone with a strong POV.
Chanel failed for 11 years between 1971 to 1982 trying to be about Coco. They will fail if they are trying to be about Karl.
The reality is there: Chanel is now about Coco as much as it is about Karl.

They needs someone who has a strong POV that will play, go against, embrace, contradict everything about it.

See at Fendi, they tried to pass Mr Jones as a new Karl. He was the new « Renaissance man ». We are still waiting for the Hit collection…