PARIS: Paris Fashion Week kicks off on Monday as the industry embarks on a creative overhaul, with a succession of new designers recruited to revive sales at brands including Chanel, Christian Dior and others.
Retailers, the fashion press, models and celebrities will be flocking to the French capital for the last leg of a month of runway shows that will feature design debuts at Chanel and Dior - both betting on designers who have built loyal fanbases at smaller labels - as well as other names including Balenciaga.
“There is a high level of excitement“ around the creative reboots, said HSBC analyst Erwan Rambourg. The Paris shows run over nine days through October 7, following New York, London and Milan.
Chanel, where sales declined 4% last year, has picked former Bottega Veneta designer Matthieu Blazy, 41, to lead designs at the French fashion house known for its interlocking C logo.
Blazy fills a position held by only two others since the 1980s: Karl Lagerfeld and, following his death in 2019, his longtime collaborator Virginie Viard. LVMH-owned Dior, meanwhile, where sales have declined this year, has selected Jonathan Anderson, also 41 years old.
The Irish designer joined from Loewe, stepping into a combined menswear and womenswear role.
Anderson, who showed menswear in June, has teased new styles for women through an advertising campaign featuring Greta Lee lounging in a castle, wearing minimal makeup, feminine tailoring and a rugby shirt in muted pastels.
Industry in crisis
Since the winding down of the post-pandemic boom, the sector has undergone a prolonged slump, sparking the flurry of change in management and creative direction. Brands are facing a “certain weariness” from shoppers, said Amaury Saint Olive, associate partner at McKinsey.
Price hikes, which fueled profit at labels such as Chanel, Dior and Vuitton in recent years, have weighed on appetite for handbags, especially from less wealthy clients. Executives hope new designs will renew interest in designer clothing.
“They’re finally getting it and now we’re going to see evidence of that ramp up,” Rambourg said, noting luxury brands have begun addressing the issues of “greed inflation” and a lack of creativity.
Rambourg expects creative reboots to prompt a return of shoppers to stores.
Anderson’s first womenswear show takes place on October 1. Blazy’s debut at Chanel will be on October 6 at Lagerfeld’s favoured venue, the Grand Palais.
Other design debuts include Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe, and Duran Lantink at Jean Paul Gaultier.
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