Discussion: Who Should Be The Creative Director of Chanel?

[Frederic01]

If Blazy is in, it will be interesting to see how the engages with the Chanel logo, if at all. Because both Karl and Virginie were logo obsessed, and Matthieu is the opposite of that, so it will so interesting to see if he removes it all together, or engages with it.

If one is for sure, he will clean up the image of the brand to the effect of what Daniel Lee did with that first Bottega collection. I am picturing the first set of images to be very raw and natural a la "Old Celine" x Jurgen Teller.

 

[avonlea002]

I am picturing the first set of images to be very raw and natural a la "Old Celine" x Jurgen Teller.

God please no

 

[nationalsalt]

My two cents - we've seen the quality of many designers' work fluctuate wildly depending on which house they're at - no doubt for countless reasons such as how much the brand resonates with them, the vibe of their new office, the creative team and upper management etc.

For example - Ghesquiere at Balenciaga vs Ghesquiere at Vuitton, Tisci at Givenchy vs Tisci at Burberry etc. etc.

Maybe it's worth seeing how Blazy fits in at Chanel before casting too much judgement ahead of time?

 

[jeanclaude]

Instead of looking for the best talent, they are looking for the less mediocre one...fashion these days!

Meanwhile Olivier Theyskens is missing.

 

[imjustken]

Meanwhile Olivier Theyskens is missing.

One of those designers who should always be given the means to create.

 

[fenty]

How anticlimactic this process has been just to find out Blazy is the next CD. I won't expect much, but I wish him the best.

 

[vogue22]

Gosh, I can already see him having a great first year, and then his collections will just be rinse and repeat for the rest of his contract.

 

[tourbillions]

Ghesquiere at Balenciaga vs Ghesquiere at Vuitton, Tisci at Givenchy vs Tisci at Burberry

Not the best examples... Both of their latter collections are continuations of what they did originally.

 

[style_expert]

With all the general stupidity in the world, there are many worse choices Chanel could have made. Some of the names mentioned earlier would have been completely horrific.

Not understanding all the hate, I think Blazy is actually a relatively decent and safe choice. His name isn’t too heavily associated with a specific house among a general public, and I think (and hope) his work at Bottega wasn’t yet his creative prime. This is probably part of Chanel’s reasoning too—they likely didn’t want a designer who had already given their all in previous creative director roles. Blazy has also made some attempts at lightheartedness at Bottega (not all of them very convincing tbh) and we need more of that at Chanel too, especially after the grim VV years.

Is there someone more suitable to lead Chanel? Probably. But I’m curious to see his vision for the brand.
One thing he needs to do, however, is find a good stylist to collaborate with. Ever since he and his team started styling the Bottega shows, things have felt very... unedited.

 

[TomBlanksFullFatMiuMiu]

Maybe it's worth seeing how Blazy fits in at Chanel before casting too much judgement ahead of time?

It's Kate Young's fault for not picking the best dress for Margot, yet Virginie receives the blame.

Given the privileged nature of this position—arguably the best one in the industry—whoever secures this role, including Blazy, deserves every ounce of scrutiny and judgment, 24/7. This includes constant oversight from the CEO, financial pressures, tiptoeing around politics, and every positive and negative/ fair or unfair comment on social media. I hold no sympathy in this regard; many designers would sell their kidneys for an opportunity of this calibre. And let's not forget the money

 

[PDFSD]

If Blazy is in, it will be interesting to see how the engages with the Chanel logo, if at all. Because both Karl and Virginie were logo obsessed, and Matthieu is the opposite of that, so it will so interesting to see if he removes it all together, or engages with it.

If one is for sure, he will clean up the image of the brand to the effect of what Daniel Lee did with that first Bottega collection. I am picturing the first set of images to be very raw and natural a la "Old Celine" x Jurgen Teller.

Chanel wont let him do logo free as in BV its the main reason Chanel always sold with KL and VV and why LV is big why Gucci got to be 3 times bigger ...won't happen ever as long as the idea on mass luxury is logo driven

the cc logo is a very powerful tool and part of chanel style ....one could argue it's not even a logo anymore at this point it's so integrated part of the design beyond decoration and seal off recontion.

people don't buy (basic) chanel rtw wear of acc for its design or fabric etc its how much does this piece makes clear its chanel for my money and for what i need it for.

CK had redone logos for jeans and underwear and they were a flop he was also there with raf at the time ....when you try to be to clever with logo/ not logo ideas it usually flops, you either embrace it or don't take the job.

 

[PDFSD]

He will be fine. Most of what people dislike about him at Bottega Veneta is because he's had to work within the aesthetic parameters of what Daniel Lee turned the company into.

I think it's more the overwhelming of ideas that don't crystallize into a strong clear newer point of view,allot of everything that could and should be good but it end up being middle of the road (well made but still middle of the road high fashion design ideas )

Lee did less but was more strong somehow with items and image, you could even argue Blazy has more ideas but don't know what to do with it , and Lee does the maximum with the few ideas he has to make a clearer and stronger image at BV.

Blazy went out side of the aesthetic parameters of lee initial ideas for BV ...i just think that it's not as far or different than lee than that Blzy is more crafty and romantic modernist you see sam with raf and pieters the always try (often fail ) to inject warmth and humanity into their modern ideals.

because its not effortless

 

[Nimsay]

I think part of every Chanel CD job is integrating the CC... Chanel jewelry is leading the brand in innovating the Double-C. I think Blazy is expected to make CC based designs just like Karl was...

 

[JohannesL]

Does the Blaze rumor set Chanel on fire?

 

[nationalsalt]

Not to drag this discussion out unnecessarily, but how confident are folks that Blazy has actually been selected? I.e. how reliable are the sources and how many are there (who aren't just repeating each other's words); have they previously claimed others were chosen etc.?

I'm not really familiar with the process, but would any of these leaks / rumours have been officially sanctioned by Chanel HQ before the big announcement? Or are we just trusting that journalists have sneaky sources who know the details?

 

[couturefan]

Not to drag this discussion out unnecessarily, but how confident are folks that Blazy has actually been selected? I.e. how reliable are the sources and how many are there (who aren't just repeating each other's words); have they previously claimed others were chosen etc.?

I'm not really familiar with the process, but would any of these leaks / rumours have been officially sanctioned by Chanel HQ before the big announcement? Or are we just trusting that journalists have sneaky sources who know the details?

I would consider WWD a reliable source. They also said Chanel will likely announce the new Creative Director mid December so that's probably next week, that means we should get the announcement of Blazy leaving Bottega probably this week. We'll know soon if they really chose Blazy.

 

[NoInvite]

If it's not Blazy, it will be quite awkward.

 

[oioioi]

I would consider WWD a reliable source. They also said Chanel will likely announce the new Creative Director mid December so that's probably next week, that means we should get the announcement of Blazy leaving Bottega probably this week. We'll know soon if they really chose Blazy.

He's already not been in the BV offices all last week, during an important part of the Pre deliveries/showroom meetings.

 

[Nimsay]

I think they also want M. Blazy because he did jump right into Daniel Lee's BV and expand on it while maintaining the same energy.

After seeing the Md'A today - I think they plan on Blazy continuing Karl's World of Chanel which - to be frank - is what the people want right now. With only some slight updates via fabrics and trends which Blazy has proven to be perfect for at BV...

Karl is Chanel now.

Now it's about taking Karl and updating it for 2020+. So we will see Karl styles updated in brand new materials styled on trend...

 

[couturefan]

Louis Pisano is a journalist who writes on Nylon France and Harper’s Bazaar US:

Credits: x.com