Chanel picks Matthieu Blazy as creative director

PARIS: French fashion house Chanel selected former Bottega Veneta design chief Matthieu Blazy as its next creative director, Women’s Wear Daily and the Financial Times reported Thursday.

French luxury group Kering earlier said it has appointed Louise Trotter as creative director of its Bottega Veneta brand to replace Blazy, whose name has been circulating for months as Chanel’s most likely pick.

Chanel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The choice of Blazy to usher in a new aesthetic for the privately-owned brand, famous for tweed jackets, double-C logos and No. 5 perfume, comes amid an industry-wide slump in the luxury sector.

The high-profile role has been left vacant since the abrupt departure of Virginie Viard in June.

Viard, had worked at Chanel for nearly thirty years, alongside longtime Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, taking over in 2019 following his death.

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The world’s second-largest label after LVMH’s Louis Vuitton, Chanel is owned by French billionaire brothers Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer.

Kering’s new hire Trotter, currently creative director at French fashion brand Carven and previously in the same role at Lacoste, will join the company at the end of January, the company said in a statement.