Matthieu Blazy - Designer, Creative Director of Chanel

[LadyJunon]

I actually think that Blazy's appointement is intended to mark the beginning of Chanel 3.0.

While Chanel has had many CDs throughout it 100+ year industry, I generally split Chanel's history into two core eras with the Alain-Gerard takeover in 1974 splitting the two. I think that Pavlovsky and Nair are conscious of the fact that the second era has to come to an end: Lagerfeld, the face of the era, is long dead and Viard, while commercially successful, never quite hit like her predecessor did.

While it's unsure as to whether Blazy will be "The Next Karl" or not, it's obvious that Chanel is making the move to put Karl's era in the vault and modernise the brand to get ahead of the brand fatigue.

 

[Scotty]

You guys have way too much faith in this guy.

 

[jeanclaude]

My first reaction: feels like oil and water. But it could be worse...it could have been Jacquemus!

One thing is sure, if Blazy was already struggling at a small brand like BV, Chanel is going to drain the life out of him. Ten collections a year are too much to deliver, from a creative point of view. So I have the feeling his tenure will become into a Virginie Viard 2.0 .
And add to that the pressure from the suits...hope he does not end praising Hitler at any parisian Café.

 

[JohannesL]

well, Walter agrees so all is good…lol

View attachment 1333177

Did he want Blazy to bring him to Chanel as he didn’t get Givenchy?

 

[PDFSD]

He didnt do Margiela at BV. We saw no masks on the runway…
So why expect from him to do BV at Chanel?
Not all designers are Hedi Slimane and Alessandro Michele so why use that paradigm to appreciate whatever he will bring to the house?

He didn't do Margiela at BV. ???? noooooo Lola i cant believe your saying this ...what about the whole trompe l'oeil of denim, plaid shirt, cotton shirt and paper bag printed on leather trompe l'oeil clothes printed on flat surface as clothes is so margiela go to inspo.

i would even argue the blown up barbie clothes for human size thing since first collection , even the big woven label outside on clothes that raf openly rift from martin as well , i can go on and find more

 

[PDFSD]

Yes and two successful bags: The Hop and the Andiamo.
God knows how much I don’t like Raf Simons’s work but even him didn’t recreate Jil Sander at Dior, Dior at Calvin Klein or Calvin Klein at Prada.

For me the jeans from Blazy was a clever idea. BV is known for their leather so to make a statement in terms of clothing with leather was clever.

Chanel has a history, an heritage as a Couture and leading fashion house, something BV isn’t so, to expect from him to make a copy paste of what his work over the past 3 years has been is a bit unfair.

i need to find a post on ig i seen last week of raf ideas from jil to dior to ck to prada how his obsessions keep coming up ...its not only hedi and alessandro ...even miuccia is doing same ideas at miu miu to prada and JWA and loewe are not worlds apart as was MGC from valentino to dior ......or phoebe celine to her own brand ....or nicolas balenciaga to LV is still space age even some balenciaga shapes creep up from time to time.....
Demna from margiela to vetement to balenciaga is same ideas re worked over and over Gucci TF to TF .....i bet with HA at TF we will see HA more than TF i would not be shocked

 

[audace]

Nobody paid attention when before even he was suggested I said that it will be someone French and I was correct, lol. I am surprised by how some people did not read into that right away, especially the French. Chanel is the core of French fashion, it is a part of its essence.

 

[PDFSD]

Nobody paid attention when before even he was suggested I said that it will be someone French and I was correct, lol. I am surprised by how some people did not read into that right away, especially the French. Chanel is the core of French fashion, it is a part of its essence.

yet a german saved it for over 30 years lol

 

[audace]

yet a german saved it for over 30 years lol

True, but it was clear they wanted to establish it more as THE French brand and it takes more now. LV and Hermes are doing that now.

 

[PDFSD]

True, but it was clear they wanted to establish it more as THE French brand and it takes more now. LV and Hermes are doing that now.

i agree totally

 

[Lola701]

He didn't do Margiela at BV. ???? noooooo Lola i cant believe your saying this ...what about the whole trompe l'oeil of denim, plaid shirt, cotton shirt and paper bag printed on leather trompe l'oeil clothes printed on flat surface as clothes is so margiela go to inspo.

i would even argue the blown up barbie clothes for human size thing since first collection , even the big woven label outside on clothes that raf openly rift from martin as well , i can go on and find more

Im speaking in terms of aesthetic.
Everybody has their own design language ultimately that will make them standout as individuals.
In terms of quote on quote aesthetic. What he proposed at Margiela Artisanal was different from what he ended up doing at BV.

i need to find a post on ig i seen last week of raf ideas from jil to dior to ck to prada how his obsessions keep coming up ...its not only hedi and alessandro ...even miuccia is doing same ideas at miu miu to prada and JWA and loewe are not worlds apart as was MGC from valentino to dior ......or phoebe celine to her own brand ....or nicolas balenciaga to LV is still space age even some balenciaga shapes creep up from time to time.....
Demna from margiela to vetement to balenciaga is same ideas re worked over and over Gucci TF to TF .....i bet with HA at TF we will see HA more than TF i would not be shocked

Maybe you didn’t get what I meant. Tom Ford at Gucci or YSL or Tom Ford was doing Tom Ford. But essentially, his work and approach for each brand was sensibly different.
Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Fendi, Chloe, Karl Lagerfeld was doing Karl Lagerfeld. He has his signature shapes, his own approach to flou, to decoration and all but it essentially looked different at each brand.

Miuccia Prada is doing Miuccia at both of her brand but the approach is different and then the result is sensibly different.

Hedi and Alessandro’s work are however interchangeable no matter where they goes.

There’s a difference between a sensibility and an end result. I rarely look at a Vuitton collection thinking that it could have been Balenciaga. The same way that I never looked at a Chanel collection thinking that it could have been Fendi.

 

[Drusilla_]

yet a german saved it for over 30 years lol

THE most strongly francophile german of our age though, they don't make 'em like that anymore

 

[Norden]

Im sure he’ll make pretty Chanel clothes that look modern and desirable. But it feels like a downgrade from a time period we all love. He lacks story telling and iconic moments. I found his margiela stronger than BV, where he made more clear and conceptual collections. His BV always looked like a crafty COS to me, without the humor of say a Loewe. He has a lot of work to do! A silver lining- I hear he’s great and charming as a person.

 

[kiwigrape]

he grew BV. during Blazy it became a hot brand. Chanel will be a bigger test for him I think. it's way bigger than BV and expectations will be higher. but I liked him in BV... I think he'll somewhat transform Chanel which, Virginie left behind. I guess we'll see.

 

[Xone]

 

[TaylorBinque]

An ultimate job. I quite like what he has been doing at BV. So good luck. He will definitely need it.

 

[Mody]

I think his commitment to experimentation of fabric would be an interesting thing to see when he transitions his vision into Chanel. But I really hope that the unbreathableness he has in BV will be left behind. I am certainly not interested in seeing a pair of jeans supposedly made with tweeds.

 

[Frederic01]

His ready-to-wear collections will be as expected, but it's his approach to Cruise / Metiers d'Art that has me interested. Both Karl and Virginie both played into the respective destinations of where those shows were held, but Matthieu doesn't strike me as the kind of designer to lean into the concept of "travel" or "themed collections".

I am curious as to where he will pick for his first Metiers d'Art collection...

 

[Creative]

To me the worst thing about him is that he doesn’t have a world… his clothes could be Daniel Lee, Phoebe Philo, Proenza or from any other brand doing Phoebe 2.0.

For somebody getting the most coveted job at the most prestigious fashion brand I would expect an identifiable fashion language. He can do cool things but he lacks a point of view. And being CD is all about having a point of view.

Jacquemus, Marc Jacobs, Hedi Slimane… all have povs.

Maybe they chose him for that specific reason and they want something a la MGC at Dior. Although, even if she’s the most boring designer in the world, she still has a POV.

Perhaps they just want well done, neutral clothing. But a brand like Chanel needs a story and a dream. We saw that under Virginie the dream was not there and the brand suffered image wise.

Chanel has always been my soft sport brand. So sacred, pure and untouched. They had the biggest legend of the XXI first century. Having Blazy there now is like, I don’t know, being used to having fresh peonies every morning and having them replaced by grass. There’s no dream about him, no aura, no story…

Let’s see how it goes.

 

[LadyJunon]

Blazy leaving Bottega Veneta: