Who Is Matthieu Blazy, Chanel’s New Creative Director?

After months of industry speculation and front-row gossip, we finally know Chanel’s new creative director: Matthieu Blazy.

You see, Chanel has been creative director-less since June, when Virginie Viard very suddenly (and somewhat dramatically) departed the brand. Since then, it’s been fashion’s favourite guessing game, with dozens upon dozens of names being throw into the mix: Marc Jacobs, Hedi Slimane, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Jonathan Anderson, Jeremy Scott, Simon Porte Jacquemus, John Galliano and Thom Browne — just to name a few.

But Blazy’s name suspiciously stuck. As the current designer behind Bottega Veneta, the choice offers a beautifully simple solution to a complicated problem: how do you keep a luxury fashion house relevant in 2024? It’s a question Blazy himself had to answer when he first took over the Italian brand in 2021, and many would agree that he’s exceeded expectations. (More on that later.)

Clearly, Chanel took notice. Because on December 12, the luxury house officially appointed him as creative director. With that in mind, FASHION broke down everything you need to know about Matthieu Blazy and why he’s sure to be a great fit for Chanel.

Who is Matthieu Blazy?

Matthieu Blazy is the current creative director of Bottega Veneta. He took over from Daniel Lee in 2021 and has since transformed the brand in terms of sales (they’ve skyrocketed), brand recognition (it’s number four on Lyst’s compilation of today’s hottest brands), and overall vision, with famed fashion critics labelling his collections the highlight of each season. To put it simply: consider him the golden child of the fashion industry.

Where is he from?

Born in Paris and trained in Brussels, Blazy started his career as an intern at Balenciaga and John Galliano. After a stint at Maison Margiela and dressing Kanye West during his “Yeezus” era, Blazy moved to Celine where he worked directly with fashion darling Phoebe Philo. He continued his lesson in luxury minimalism at Raf Simons where he worked until he was recruited to lead Bottega Veneta’s ready-to-wear team in 2020. A year later he was promoted to creative director.

What’s his track record?

A few years ago, Bottega Veneta was synonymous with one colour: Kelly green. But under the tutelage of Blazy, the Italian brand has come to represent so much more: unparalleled craftsmanship, elegant innovation and understated whimsy.

In other words, Blazy is a master magician. He’s turned leather into denim. He’s transformed shoes into socks. He’s made bean bags beautiful (and very expensive). During a time when fashion is becoming increasingly homogenized, Blazy has created a world entirely his own. A world where nothing is quite as it seems; sleights of hand are commonplace and you truly have to feel it to believe it. In short, he makes the ordinary extraordinary.

But his attention to detail is meticulous. Amid reports that customers are increasingly unsatisfied with the quality of luxury-priced items, Blazy has risen to the occasion. He’s chosen to focus on Bottega Veneta’s history of craftsmanship, quite literally inviting the leather workers and fabric developers to the table. As a result, technique has been at the forefront of every product, balancing tradition with modernity.

What could Matthieu Blazy bring to Chanel?

For one, a breath of fresh air. A pro and con of Chanel is the fact that it has such a rich, widely recognized history. Ask a stranger on the street to name a fashion figure and nine times out of ten, Coco will be mentioned. As such, it’s a balancing act for any designer to honour its prestigious past, meet the consumer in the present, and keep looking to the future. You can’t fully reinvent the wheel, but rather, turn it in a different direction. Karl Lagerfeld’s collections in the ‘90s come to mind.

Blazy has already shown he can achieve such an equilibrium through his work at Bottega Veneta. And with a fondness for craftsmanship, his creative capabilities would only grow if given a Chanel-sized budget. Think of the tweed suits and quilted lambskin bags under his tenure!

Skillset aside, his best advantage might just be his youth. For such an impressive resumé, Blazy isn’t even 40 years old. His pieces are playful, beautifully exemplified by Bottega Veneta’s Spring 2025 collection. There’s an idealistic optimism in his work that would help lighten the heavy nature of Chanel’s design codes. We’ve already seen glimpses of renewed airiness in recent collections designed by the Chanel house team, such as wispy capes paired with jeans and slinky chiffon slips. Under Blazy, one would hope he might continue down this path and add his signature effortlessness to make the offering feel even more unbuttoned.

While Chanel has yet to announce when Blazy’s first collection will be, our guess is Spring 2026, as Fall 2025 is most likely already well underway by the current design team. It has, however, been announced that Louise Trotter, from Carven, will replace the designer at Bottega Veneta come January. With so many shakeups in the industry, including John Galliano leaving Maison Margiela, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. But, as Chanel proved, good things come to those who wait.