In late 2025, Matthieu Blazy will debut his first collection as Chanel’s creative director, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the iconic French maison. His appointment follows Virginie Viard’s departure in 2024, a moment that sparked widespread industry speculation about who would carry the brand’s legacy forward. Chanel has passed through many artistic hands over the decades, yet its essence—timeless, confident elegance—has remained unchanged. As Coco Chanel famously said: “Fashion passes; style remains.”
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel founded her house in 1910 and reshaped the way women dressed. With a single cut of her ribbon-trimmed scissors, she freed women from corsets and introduced fluid jersey suits and relaxed chemise dresses. She believed deeply that “nothing is more beautiful than freedom of the body,” and she offered her customers that freedom through clothing that allowed them to move, live, and dress with the ease traditionally reserved for men. Her early innovations—wide-leg trousers, cardigan jackets, Breton stripes, turbans, turtlenecks, pea coats, and the now-essential little black dress—set the tone for a modern, liberated wardrobe.
In his 1954 book The Glass of Fashion, Cecil Beaton wrote that Chanel’s success came from her ability to create desires that reflected the changing needs of society. As women shed the last layers of overly ornate femininity, Chanel provided exactly what the moment called for.
Karl Lagerfeld took over as creative director in 1983, more than a decade after Coco’s death. Although Chanel was known primarily for its fragrances at that time, Lagerfeld transformed it into one of the most powerful and influential luxury brands in the world. Over 36 years, he reinterpreted and modernized the classic Chanel suit and reinvented the brand’s most recognizable elements, including the quilted bag, camellias, pearls, bows, chains, and two-tone shoes. His work honored Chanel’s codes while injecting sharp wit, irreverence, and references to pop culture. He shared with Coco a love for designs that balanced masculine structure with feminine elegance, but he was never afraid to subvert tradition.
Lagerfeld remained at the house until his death on February 19, 2019. That same day, Chanel appointed Virginie Viard—his close collaborator of more than three decades—as artistic director. During her five-year tenure, Viard delivered several unforgettable moments, such as her collaboration with Sofia Coppola for the 2022 Métiers d’Art collection, and her breathtaking show at the Château de Chenonceau during the pandemic, where Chanel muse Kristen Stewart was the only live guest and offered a solitary standing ovation.
Now, as Matthieu Blazy prepares to unveil his inaugural Chanel collection in late 2025, anticipation across the fashion world is rising. Known for his refined craftsmanship and contemporary sensibility, Blazy steps into one of the most prestigious roles in fashion. His challenge will be to honor a legendary past while steering Chanel confidently into its next era—continuing the legacy of a house built on style, freedom, and enduring innovation.
