Matthieu Blazy - Designer, Creative Director of Chanel

[Xone]

It’s not him.

Meaning?…

 

[helmutnotdead]

Meaning?…

meaning it’s not him.

 

[helmutnotdead]

also I LOVE I LOVE that Raf must be hysterical about Pieter and Matthieu being top contenders for Chanel and more relevant than him in the fashion conversation right now

 

[Frederic01]

also I LOVE I LOVE that Raf must be hysterical about Pieter and Matthieu being top contenders for Chanel and more relevant than him in the fashion conversation right now

I don't think Pieter or Matthieu will ever usurp Raf in terms of fashion credentials due to Raf's menswear past (and how important those collections were in terms of changing the fashion landscape), his collaborations with Adidas, and of course his Dior tenure.

Pieter and Matthieu are great designers, but not groundbreaking or able to influence in the way that Raf did. Like it or not, Raf will always be an important name in fashion. Just like Phoebe Philo. You might not like Raf's aesthetic but to call him "less relevant" because he is not being considered for the Chanel position is a pretty strange, no?

 

[yslforever]

Dior by Hedi MIGHT get me to forgive Bernie.

Bernie is basically only socially acceptable because of Hedi and NG. Without them he is a unscrupulous financier who thinks having bags made by slaves is smart management.

Without HS and NG Bernie has no aspirations of class. No legitimacy and no mandate.

Bernie isn't interested in fashion anymore: when he goes to Italy it's to buy top location real estate for his Cheval Blanc hotels in Venezia, Como and Firenze, but not anything fashion-related.

 

[vogue22]

Y'all calling him Bernie like he's a good old friend of yours lmaoo.

 

[NYLA22]

also I LOVE I LOVE that Raf must be hysterical about Pieter and Matthieu being top contenders for Chanel and more relevant than him in the fashion conversation right now

As a relative fashion outsider (but who loves to learn about designers and the industry) could you explain why Raf is so disliked? He seemed to be the height of "coolness" over a decade ago, or maybe before Calvin Klein, and now I only read negative things about him. Is it that he has simply lost his touch? Or that people feel he never was that talented in the first place? How do people feel about his time at Dior? I am just curious. Thanks!

 

[yslforever]

Bernie isn't interested in fashion anymore: when he goes to Italy it's to buy top location real estate for his Cheval Blanc hotels in Venezia, Como and Firenze, but not anything fashion-related.

And Bernie just renegated on Venezia; someelse bought the Bauer hôtel he visited.

 

[JohannesL]

Y'all calling him Bernie like he's a good old friend of yours lmaoo.

LOL, I have to recall what you all were talking about before realizing that there is no way it could be Bernie Sanders!

 

[Grets]

As a relative fashion outsider (but who loves to learn about designers and the industry) could you explain why Raf is so disliked? He seemed to be the height of "coolness" over a decade ago, or maybe before Calvin Klein, and now I only read negative things about him. Is it that he has simply lost his touch? Or that people feel he never was that talented in the first place? How do people feel about his time at Dior? I am just curious. Thanks!

I still see a lot of people like his work for but it's overly intellectual and sometimes lacks heart and soul. His high-concept Americana failed to appeal to a broader consumer base. Also was a commercial disaster. The modern minimalism he found success with at Jil Sander didn't translate as well at Dior. Sure some insiders loved it, but it wasn't the same Dior that many fell in love with during the Galliano years. Sure Prada is doing well for now, that triangle definitely helps. But he doesn't have as distinct of a voice against Miuccia who is the heart and soul of the brand.

 

[alwaysademo]

@NYLA22 if Blazy gets appointed surely Raf's career will be re-seen in a major way I bet. Happened w/ Phoebe and Nicolas as well, people keep tabs on your circle as much as they do you, this "school of.." notion etc. I loved his Jil and first 4 Dior shows, they still look great today.

 

[Lola701]

As a relative fashion outsider (but who loves to learn about designers and the industry) could you explain why Raf is so disliked? He seemed to be the height of "coolness" over a decade ago, or maybe before Calvin Klein, and now I only read negative things about him. Is it that he has simply lost his touch? Or that people feel he never was that talented in the first place? How do people feel about his time at Dior? I am just curious. Thanks!

Maybe because after his glorious days at his own brand and a fabulous tenure at Jil Sander, it became quite apparent that he owed those success to his number 2.
And I think what killed him was believing his own hype, thinking that being name dropped by rappers and cheered by the young generation was a valid reason to pander to them. And instead of elevation, he went really low…
That youth moved on to Demna.

With Raf, there’s the feeling of a designer self absorbed by his intellectualism and his taste.

RAF is with Hedi, my biggest disappointment in fashion. I loved his JS but that has more to do with Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe. I liked some of his Dior and CK even if he was a miscast in both. Now, on his own, we are seeing what is happening at Prada….

I love Blazy’s work even if I think his work suffers from the same things as RAF’s as it is so focused on design and ideas and not so much on women or attitude. And it’s something that changes the approach to design. It’s something Phoebe and Daniel, who he worked with, have.

 

[Xone]

meaning it’s not him.

Still sure it's not him?...

 

[Deleted member 170196]

As a relative fashion outsider (but who loves to learn about designers and the industry) could you explain why Raf is so disliked? He seemed to be the height of "coolness" over a decade ago, or maybe before Calvin Klein, and now I only read negative things about him. Is it that he has simply lost his touch? Or that people feel he never was that talented in the first place? How do people feel about his time at Dior? I am just curious. Thanks!

Lola put it much more eloquently than I ever could already, but to add to it, I think he, at some point, ran out of ideas to translate into any "elevated" product. His own line, though loved for his slim designs and youth-oriented novelties, was pretty poorly made, not even talking about the horrible RAF line, which is okay in the beginning, but needs to evolve as your brand and customer base evolves. Instead, Raf started to choose a very, very superfical reference (Mapplethorpe, Warhol,...) each season and slapped the correlating images on pretty banal clothing, that the original customer had long grown out of and the new customer could get "hotter" from Vetements at the time. Archive bros, arguably Rafs biggest clientele, didn't want his new stuff, they wanted his older collections, which is why pretty much everything past 2010 ended up on sale.


Him being branded as "intellectual" really was also part of his downfall because I don't believe he ever really lived up to this description, yet he strongly believes in it, even if his Prada, for example, is a highly commercial exercise in merchandise and far from any kind of conceptual thinking about fashion.

Also, it is very much known that he is not the nicest guy to work with. But he is good at spotting talents to surround himself with and thus elevate himself. He took a few students straight from his time in Vienna to Jil Sander for example, and when Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe joined him there, "his" collection suddenly looked much fresher, had a stronger POV. I guess Pieter and Matthieu learned from their time with him to do the same but keep their head down, which is working much better for them, business wise. But I'm not sure they will make a really strong "impact" though (if that is even possible or wanted anymore).

Lastly, it's always good to look at Rafs peers to understand where he comes from and how things could have turned out. Veronique Branquinho had, in my opinion, a much stronger mens offering, that is still highly sought after for its incredible craftsmanship (though you have to size up like two sizes in everything à la Heidi), when Raf was till doing Hoodies. Barnabé Hardy at Balenciaga also is the somewhat next step of the Raf ideas but pushed further, more luxurious.



But tbh, it all comes from here anyways:

 

[Frederic01]

Sorry to digress but Matthieu is still posting on his stories about Bottega Veneta. For someone that is, allegedly, no longer employed by Bottega, that seems slightly odd, no? Theoretically if he is already on board at Chanel, why is he still promoting his work at BV?

 

[NYLA22]

But tbh, it all comes from here anyways:

This is Dries, yes? Thank you for your thoughtful response!

 

[PDFSD]

Sorry to digress but Matthieu is still posting on his stories about Bottega Veneta. For someone that is, allegedly, no longer employed by Bottega, that seems slightly odd, no? Theoretically if he is already on board at Chanel, why is he still promoting his work at BV?

till its not official why should he not post his own work....... next week we should have the news as rumored to be some statement the week after the show ...so we can move on from this :-) and just congratulate Hedi :-)

 

[TomBlanksFullFatMiuMiu]

just congratulate Hedi :-)

lamo

 

[Deleted member 170196]

This is Dries, yes? Thank you for your thoughtful response!

No, this is Helmut Lang (Spring Summer 1998), who was the predecessor of people like Raf, Hedi, Nicolas and later on Phoebe. Raf is especially heavy influenced by him, his whole tenure at Calvin Klein was just adaptations of HL designs. Here he is wearing a HL Jacket at the end of one of his CK shows.

 

[Nimsay]

Rafs collaborations, particularly with Adidas, garnered significant attention. however, his mainline collections often struggled to justify their elevated position. Experiencing his pieces firsthand revealed questionable choices in both fit and material selection that didn't align with their luxury positioning. This was in like 2008 when Raf was first stocked in NY.

At Dior, the designs, while well executed, didnt create new silhouettes or meaningful evolution to the house codes. This created an opening for more commercially-minded creative directors like Maria Grazia Chiuri, whose appointment made strategic sense from a business perspective...If we are doing nothing new it might as well have broad appeal.

The dramatic yellow CK store redesign served as an omen of what would become another series of collections that struggled to resonate with both journalists and shoppers...

In many ways, rs career trajectory reflects broader issues: the tendency to repackage existing ideas under the guise of intellectual depth in a post modern society...

His partnership with Prada seems fitting, both brands share an aesthetic that could be characterized as austere and cold - for people seeking fashion that prioritizes concepts over warmth or accessibility... Prada has always been an anomaly to me because who wants to spend 6k for a frumpy suit...


8 hit pairs of sneakers created Raf's career....