Matthieu Blazy - Designer, Creative Director of Chanel

[PDFSD]

susannanicoletti

Is CHANEL going to be the next Gucci ?
It seems that the French maison has started taking the same parabolic path of the Italian brand: from prestige to dullness to business troubles.
A new designer who has not understood neither how to approach a luxury brand nor how to develop appealing products for the customer base going through full funnel.

Disruption much more than evolution
These are emblematic products that were once iconic for both brands and we can only see crashed ideas.
Lots of buzz for nothing?

On top of this is news of the past days that Gucci is heavily discounting its stock in different ways in China with 25% discount as they have very low sell out (De Meo leaked plan says 50%).
On Vinted there are sales of product new with the label which are very relevant.
Is invading the markets with discount the right move?
Is it survival mode at its worst or a good relaunch step 1?

Weird products and loss of loyal customers because of new and not at the height brand decisions can really harm very much the business.
Danger Zone...



comment by :
Ercole E.
Global Brand Strategist

You’re circling a truth most people in luxury prefer to speak about only behind the velvet curtain.
When a maison loses the scent of itself, the decay doesn’t begin with numbers, it begins with a slight nausea in the loyal customer.
A feeling that something once sacred has been replaced by something… committee-approved.

Is CHANEL becoming the next Gucci? Not yet. But the early tremors feel familiar: products that look like they were designed during a fire drill, disruption mistaken for personality, and that strange buzz that rattles loudly online but dies the moment it hits the boutique’s carpet.

When a brand no longer recognizes its own believers, the believers quietly stop recognizing the brand.
And then comes the discounting, the final frontier. Once luxury trains its audience to wait for 25% off, desire turns into arithmetic.
Maybe it’s a relaunch strategy, maybe it’s panic dressed as optimism. Either way, it’s a dangerous chemical to put in the bloodstream.
Luxury isn’t killed by bad seasons.
It’s killed when it forgets the pact it made with the people who loved it.

 

[Norden]

I think the more I see from his Chanel the more I feel that it has no allure and magic. It feels so pedestrian and democratic. Obviously this goes beyond his reach, because I find the corporate side of Chanel really awful, this Leena Nair and Bruno are beyond overexposed.

To be honest they should have given the keys to Hedi, but it would mean their jobs would be meaningless. Chanel under him would have had prestige and some kind of mystique, perhaps more boring, but at least it would be precise and beautiful.

When I look at Chanel now, I see a mess. The marketing is all over the place, the brand ambassadors are humourless, the collections are stews of random things and creative director and c suite are talking too much. it's hideous and tasteless. Im not a Chanel client, but if I was, id be so turned off by it all.

 

[Caffeine]

susannanicoletti

Is CHANEL going to be the next Gucci ?
It seems that the French maison has started taking the same parabolic path of the Italian brand: from prestige to dullness to business troubles.
A new designer who has not understood neither how to approach a luxury brand nor how to develop appealing products for the customer base going through full funnel.

Disruption much more than evolution
These are emblematic products that were once iconic for both brands and we can only see crashed ideas.
Lots of buzz for nothing?

On top of this is news of the past days that Gucci is heavily discounting its stock in different ways in China with 25% discount as they have very low sell out (De Meo leaked plan says 50%).
On Vinted there are sales of product new with the label which are very relevant.
Is invading the markets with discount the right move?
Is it survival mode at its worst or a good relaunch step 1?

Weird products and loss of loyal customers because of new and not at the height brand decisions can really harm very much the business.
Danger Zone...

View attachment 1440205View attachment 1440206

comment by :
Ercole E.
Global Brand Strategist

You’re circling a truth most people in luxury prefer to speak about only behind the velvet curtain.
When a maison loses the scent of itself, the decay doesn’t begin with numbers, it begins with a slight nausea in the loyal customer.
A feeling that something once sacred has been replaced by something… committee-approved.

Is CHANEL becoming the next Gucci? Not yet. But the early tremors feel familiar: products that look like they were designed during a fire drill, disruption mistaken for personality, and that strange buzz that rattles loudly online but dies the moment it hits the boutique’s carpet.

When a brand no longer recognizes its own believers, the believers quietly stop recognizing the brand.
And then comes the discounting, the final frontier. Once luxury trains its audience to wait for 25% off, desire turns into arithmetic.
Maybe it’s a relaunch strategy, maybe it’s panic dressed as optimism. Either way, it’s a dangerous chemical to put in the bloodstream.
Luxury isn’t killed by bad seasons.
It’s killed when it forgets the pact it made with the people who loved it.

Nausea or violent vomit?

 

[tricotineacetat]

One concern I would like to add is that the amount of collections and product at Chanel makes it difficult to identify and build up a potential best-selling product attributed to Matthieu Blazy - Ghesquière's debut at Vuitton was cleverly coordinated with one handbag style (the Petit Malle) that featured in several looks of the collection. It has since become a collectible icon for the brand, aside from their classics.

Now I'm not much of a handbag person but I don't think it's the right way to establish a the era under a new creative director with an overwhelming amount of product, of which a lot are feeling rushed and individually believed in. Sometimes what is needed is not quantity and frequency but a well thought-out product supported by a marketing/PR that puts it into focus.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I think the more I see from his Chanel the more I feel that it has no allure and magic. It feels so pedestrian and democratic. Obviously this goes beyond his reach, because I find the corporate side of Chanel really awful, this Leena Nair and Bruno are beyond overexposed.

To be honest they should have given the keys to Hedi, but it would mean their jobs would be meaningless. Chanel under him would have had prestige and some kind of mystique, perhaps more boring, but at least it would be precise and beautiful.

When I look at Chanel now, I see a mess. The marketing is all over the place, the brand ambassadors are humourless, the collections are stews of random things and creative director and c suite are talking too much. it's hideous and tasteless. Im not a Chanel client, but if I was, id be so turned off by it all.

Let‘s be honest about one thing - None of what management enforced at Chanel signals in the direction of lasting success - They aimed at a higher product revenue by raising the prices and lowering the qulity of their leather goods and upped on the frequency of collections - To me, that reads more mass market than what you expect from a couture maison whose exclusivity and status is only rivaled by Hermès.

It doesn't help at all to put a creative director in such a place who does not manage to produce collections with a clarity of direction.

 

[PDFSD]

Let‘s be honest about one thing - None of what management enforced at Chanel signals in the direction of lasting success - They aimed at a higher product revenue by raising the prices and lowering the qulity of their leather goods and upped on the frequency of collections - To me, that reads more mass market than what you expect from a couture maison whose exclusivity and status is only rivaled by Hermès.

It doesn't help at all to put a creative director in such a place who does not manage to produce collections with a clarity of direction.

also if we notice most of Blazy bags have the quilting removed some have only the stitching or are fake crock or other flat leathers if not embroidery, so one less production process needed to be done for producing the bags matching the quilting etc .

its a literal flattening of the bags ..but prices are still the same or even more.

 

[Caffeine]

also if we notice most of Blazy bags have the quilting removed some have only the stitching or are fake crock or other flat leathers if not embroidery, so one less production process needed to be done for producing the bags matching the quilting etc .

its a literal flattening of the bags ..but prices are still the same or even more.

did Dacob say it also? For some bags, the styles work with the BV intrecciato texture, but not on smooth leather, because they look too basic.
Hermes has many plain styles, but the leather is divine (I get that recent quality is also less than perfect) - I'll take their chevre over anything in the market right now.

 

[carla56]

susannanicoletti

Is CHANEL going to be the next Gucci ?
It seems that the French maison has started taking the same parabolic path of the Italian brand: from prestige to dullness to business troubles.
A new designer who has not understood neither how to approach a luxury brand nor how to develop appealing products for the customer base going through full funnel.

Disruption much more than evolution
These are emblematic products that were once iconic for both brands and we can only see crashed ideas.
Lots of buzz for nothing?

On top of this is news of the past days that Gucci is heavily discounting its stock in different ways in China with 25% discount as they have very low sell out (De Meo leaked plan says 50%).
On Vinted there are sales of product new with the label which are very relevant.
Is invading the markets with discount the right move?
Is it survival mode at its worst or a good relaunch step 1?

Weird products and loss of loyal customers because of new and not at the height brand decisions can really harm very much the business.
Danger Zone...

View attachment 1440205View attachment 1440206

comment by :
Ercole E.
Global Brand Strategist

You’re circling a truth most people in luxury prefer to speak about only behind the velvet curtain.
When a maison loses the scent of itself, the decay doesn’t begin with numbers, it begins with a slight nausea in the loyal customer.
A feeling that something once sacred has been replaced by something… committee-approved.

Is CHANEL becoming the next Gucci? Not yet. But the early tremors feel familiar: products that look like they were designed during a fire drill, disruption mistaken for personality, and that strange buzz that rattles loudly online but dies the moment it hits the boutique’s carpet.

When a brand no longer recognizes its own believers, the believers quietly stop recognizing the brand.
And then comes the discounting, the final frontier. Once luxury trains its audience to wait for 25% off, desire turns into arithmetic.
Maybe it’s a relaunch strategy, maybe it’s panic dressed as optimism. Either way, it’s a dangerous chemical to put in the bloodstream.
Luxury isn’t killed by bad seasons.
It’s killed when it forgets the pact it made with the people who loved it.

I just can't stand her... from her words, it seems like the only savior of the fashion world is MGC. Everything else is a disaster... imagine ten brands directed by 10 MGCs, what a wonder, what a joy, what a dream, what emotions!!!