While I’m curious to see Blazy’s vision for Chanel simply based on the fact that his choice feels unexpected and the house’s legends are as much connected to Karl than they are with Coco Chanel as an illustrious person in world history, it doesn’t change my perception of Blazy as a designer whose track record until now has proven him as a top tier talent, much in the way of the generation before him (Elbaz, Simons, Slimane, Ghesquiere, McQueen) - then again, the comparisons are difficult as in the early 2000s, a house like Chanel would likely not have chosen a behind-the-scenes talent and had likely chosen a ‘star designer’.
The paradigm in the fashion industry have changed vastly from those times. Today the power of the brand is significantly larger than the designers who helm them. The commercial success of Chanel post-Karl as well as that of Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior are telling of that, with a politely commercial vision that works seamlessly in synergy with merchandizers, CEOs and the whole chain of management brands of this size command.
I have largely lost interest in fashion since the amount of active designers with a singular vision is decreasing by the year. Haider Ackermann remains a rare exception at that, having carefully developed an identity and signatures that are recognizable in every collaboration he has taken so far. People flag Hedi Slimane for bringing Hedi to every brand he does and my response to that is that I like artists, fashion designers, musicians with a steadfast vision and not ‘agents’ like Karl Lagerfeld who really was the first designer who embodied the concept of the ‘creative director’ more than anyone else.
Matthieu Blazy’s hiring marks only but one aspect of renewal for the house of Chanel, with the people who have largely shaped the brand alongside Karl finding themselves close to retirement. It will be interesting to see if and how Chanel will retain it’s unique position and perception. My guess is that nobody will ever stay anywhere near as long with a brand as Karl Lagerfeld did at Fendi and Chanel and that the persona of Mattieu Blazy will remain largely unknown outside of the fashion industry.
it really feels like with this current generation of "hot" designers and at fashion houses in general, there's just an overall lack of storytelling with collections. Each season's work just blends from one collection to another and there's no sense of something new or fresh.
