Matthieu Blazy and CHANEL
Can the maison be refreshed not by a logo, but by materials and the body?
Blazy's arrival at CHANEL is not merely a change of Creative Director. It intersects with the significant questions that the luxury sector has been grappling with in recent years.
Can a brand move forward into the future by simply protecting its icons? How far should an historic maison change? And what can a new designer add to a brand with such strong codes as CHANEL?
In December 2024, CHANEL appointed Matthieu Blazy as Artistic Director of the fashion division, and announced that he would oversee the entire fashion line, including haute couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories. Since Virginie Viard stepped down in June 2024, industry attention has focused on CHANEL's next move.
What CHANEL chose here is a designer who can speak about clothing through materials and craft rather than through flashy star power. That choice itself eloquently tells CHANEL's current position.
Who is Matthieu Blazy?
A designer who has modernized luxury through quiet craft.
Matthieu Blazy is not a straightforward "showman-type" designer. His career is quite artisanal, and at the same time intellectual.
According to Vogue, Blazy graduated from La Cambre in 2007, then gained experience at Raf Simons, Maison Martin Margiela, Céline, and Calvin Klein, joined Bottega Veneta as Design Director in 2020, and was appointed Creative Director of the brand in 2021.
What matters in this career path is where he has worked. At Raf Simons, the tension between structure and youth. At Maison Margiela, reconstruction and a focus on the inside of garments. At Phoebe Philo's Céline, a minimalist intelligence that aligns with women's realities. At Calvin Klein, an American sense of uniformity and bodily perception. And at Bottega Veneta, he honed a way to establish luxury through materials and craftsmanship without relying on logos.
The reason Blazy is seen as a good fit for CHANEL lies here. CHANEL's codes are stronger than its logo. Tweed, chain, camellia, quilting, two-tone shoes, costume jewelry. If you simply lay them out superficially, CHANEL would easily look CHANEL-like. But that alone would not be new.
What Blazy is expected to do is not to increase CHANEL's symbols, but to once again reveal the reasons behind those symbols.
CHANEL's historical significance
This maison has always created "women in motion."
Looking back at CHANEL's history, it becomes clear that it is not merely a glamorous brand, but a maison that has long considered how to show women's bodies more freely.
Gabrielle Chanel moved away from corset-like body constraints and, through jersey, tweed, suits, trousers, and shoulder bags, made women's attire more mobile, more practical, and more modern. The Met explains that CHANEL suits drew on the influences of sporty clothing, men's wear, and workwear, and were established as the house's signature after its 1954 return.
What matters here is that CHANEL's elegance was not "elegance for adornment." The ability to move. It does not bind the wearer's body. Yet, it should not look too casual. This balance lies at the heart of CHANEL.
Later, in 1983, Karl Lagerfeld unveiled CHANEL's first collection and began to re-edit Gabrielle Chanel's legacy for the modern era. The Met describes Lagerfeld's 1983 CHANEL collection as demonstrating reverence for the founder's tradition and the ability to update it to contemporary relevance.
What Lagerfeld did was not to "preserve" CHANEL's codes, but to turn them into "staging." He rejuvenated tweed, emphasized chains, caricatured costume jewelry, and transformed the runway itself into a grand theater. Under him, CHANEL became a classic maison that, every season, generated buzz.
Since 2019, Virginie Viard has succeeded the formidable Lagerfeld. AP reports that Viard took over after Lagerfeld's death in 2019 and stepped down in 2024, and that CHANEL credited her with refreshing the brand's codes and paying tribute to its creative heritage.
Viard's era marked a move away from Lagerfeld's grand theatre toward a softer, more wearable, more real CHANEL. At the same time, there were voices within the industry seeking "buzz" and a "strong turning point." The Guardian describes Viard's period as commercially successful but not achieving the same level of cultural energy as the Lagerfeld era.
In short, Blazy’s CHANEL was a brand with a very strong history and commercial base, but was also expected to rekindle a tension that makes people want to see it again.
Why Blazy?
What CHANEL wanted was not flamboyance but “craft persuasion.”
CHANEL's reason for choosing Blazy is quite clear. In today’s luxury market, simply making the logo or icon look strong makes it difficult to sustain price justification.
CHANEL reported that its 2024 sales were not $1.87 billion, but precisely $18.7 billion, a 4.3% year-over-year decrease, and operating profit also fell by 30%. At the same time that year, the company invested at record levels, increasing capital expenditure, and continuing to invest in supply chains and brand experiences.
What was needed in this situation was not simply a visual refresh. With prices rising, customers' eyes growing more discerning, and in the post-Quiet Luxury era where people question “why is it expensive,” CHANEL needed to once again showcase the strength of its materials, techniques, tailoring, and craft.
Blazy is exactly the kind of designer who excels there.
What earned him praise at Bottega Veneta was not a conspicuous logo, but the way he demonstrated luxury density through leather handling, knitting, material illusion, and garment construction. AP also describes Blazy as a designer with craft-focused and innovative work at Bottega Veneta, and with experience at Raf Simons, Maison Margiela, Céline, etc.
For CHANEL, this is a good fit. The strength of CHANEL lies not only in strong icons, but in the aggregation of craft — the ateliers and Métiers d'art, tweed, embroidery, featherwork, hardware, and jewelry.
In fact, CHANEL's Métiers d’art is an annual collection that has continued since 2002 and is positioned to celebrate the craftsmanship involved in the maison’s production. CHANEL’s official site states that the 2026 Métiers d’art collection will be Blazy's first in that line, and explains that this collection is a tribute to the Maisons d’art of the artisans.
What Blazy should do at CHANEL is not to make the logo bigger, but to re-present CHANEL’s inherent “handcraft” in the present mood.
Direction seen since the debut.
The revival of showmanship and a touch of humanity in CHANEL.
ブlazy’s CHANEL debut drew considerable attention. AP reported that his 2026 spring/summer debut show, held in a space with planets floating, was described as the "return of showmanship," and that it marked an important moment in CHANEL's effort to reinvent its legacy for the modern era.
What is notable here is that Blazy did not simply keep CHANEL quiet. From his image at Bottega Veneta, a more subdued, craft-focused initial approach could be imagined. But he has gone to reclaim the “showmanship strength” that CHANEL has had since Lagerfeld.
On the other hand, his CHANEL is not simply a grand spectacle. Guardian, in its coverage of Blazy’s CHANEL haute couture debut in January 2026, notes expressions that combine craft and illusion — such as a thin suit, a slip dress with jewel straps, and painted muslin made to look like denim — and mentions that embroidery with personal messages and small tokens from Lesage were integrated into each look, adding intimacy.
From afar it looks like CHANEL. Up close, there is a sense of material incongruity, tailoring ingenuity, and a personal warmth.
I think this direction is very Blazy-like. From afar it looks like CHANEL; up close, there is a sense of material dissonance, tailoring ingenuity, and a personal warmth.
CHANEL has, until now, been a brand with an exceptionally strong icon. Therefore, going forward, how much of the wearer's body and the tactile pleasure of touching can be restored to that icon will be crucial. Blazy's early moves seem to be heading in that direction.
Where is CHANEL headed from here?
What is anticipated is not the reinvention of icons, but a re-editing of textures.
こFrom here on, these are predictions. However, considering Blazy’s track record and CHANEL’s current position, a few directions are fairly clear.
First, an update on tweed. CHANEL’s tweed is so famous that going forward it may not be interpreted merely as a material that is “just CHANEL-like,” but as a lighter, softer material that changes its distance from the body. Blazy excels at shifting the appearance of materials at Bottega Veneta. At CHANEL as well, there are sufficient considerations not only to make tweed look tweed, but to make it look like another material, or to emphasize lightness and movement.
Next, the redesign of bags and accessories. For CHANEL, bags are a highly important area. In CHANEL's 2025 results, the CHANEL 25 handbag campaign and the momentum of the fashion division were cited as growth drivers. Blazy, at Bottega Veneta, treated bags not as mere products but as items that showcase materials and craftsmanship. At CHANEL too, how to handle existing icons like the 2.55 and Classic Flap, and how to launch new bags, are extremely high-profile focus points.
Furthermore, the importance of Métiers d’Art is likely to grow. CHANEL is a very special maison that embraces many crafts—embroidery, featherwork, hats, shoes, jewelry—and Blazy's strength lies in modernizing craft, so Métiers d’Art will be the stage where he can most effectively showcase it. Officially, the 2026 Métiers d’art is introduced as Blazy's first in-house line, symbolizing this direction.
Finally, CHANEL's portrayal of women may change somewhat. In the Viard era, CHANEL had a soft, real, daily-life feel. In the Blazy era, there may be a touch more experimentation, intellectual dissonance, and humor in materials. AP described his debut as redefining CHANEL's codes through androgyny, provocation, and elegance.
CHANEL's direction is unlikely to be adequately described by the simple word “youthful.” Rather, I think it will involve remaking CHANEL's classics from texture and the sense of the body.
Why does it attract so much attention?
CHANEL appears more transformative precisely because it is hard to change.
CHANEL, a brand with such strong codes, can look very different with even a small change. Tweed length may change. Bag size may change. The way the chain is shown may change. The models' walk and the show production may change. Just that, and the industry responds with heightened sensitivity.
Moreover, the current luxury market is by no means easy. In 2024 CHANEL's sales and profits declined, but in 2025 sales reached $19.3 billion, up 2% year over year, operating income $4.712 billion, up 5% year over year. CHANEL's official statement described 2025 as a year of positive performance across all businesses.
Reuters also notes that CHANEL's return to growth in 2025 comes in part from increased demand driven by Blazy's design and the fashion division's momentum.
In short, Blazy's CHANEL carries substantial expectations both critically and commercially. If he succeeds, CHANEL could be seen not as a “defensive old house” but as a maison that “creates the era again through craft.” Conversely, if CHANEL's strong codes swallow it, it could end up as only an elegant update. This tension is precisely why CHANEL is being observed today.
Conclusion
Blazy's CHANEL will be a “quiet reinvention” rather than a flashy revolution
Matthieu Blazy is not being asked to make CHANEL into something completely different. Rather, how to present a brand that is so strong that it cannot be made into something else.
Freedom created by Gabrielle Chanel. The theatricality created by Karl Lagerfeld. The soft everydayness left by Virginie Viard. And the vast codes CHANEL has carried—the Atelier, Métiers d’Art, tweed, bags, jewelry.
Rather than breaking them, gradually reinterpret them from the perspectives of materials, the body, and craft. That is where Blazy's CHANEL potential lies.
Looking ahead, CHANEL will probably move away from obvious logo expansion and toward updates in texture, in the way one carries oneself, and in how craftsmanship is showcased. Tweed may become lighter. Bags may pay more attention to the distance to the body. Couture may become more personal and intimate.
CHANEL is not a brand that stays the same. Even when it changes, it remains recognizable because its codes are strong. How Blazy handles that strength is what the fashion industry is paying attention to right now.
That change is not so much a grand revolution as a subtle refinement,
Subtle updates to texture that become apparent upon closer inspection.
MOOD is drawn to Mathieu Blazy's CHANEL not because he is the type to loudly proclaim “newness,” but because he is a designer who quietly hides it within the textures and tailoring.
For maisons like CHANEL, which already have a fully formed code, what matters is not adding something but deciding where to lighten, where to place a sense of dissonance, and where to reveal a craftsman's touch in the materials once again.
Tweed, chain, bags, jewelry. The symbols of CHANEL that everyone knows begin to take on a slightly different warmth in Blazy's hands. I think that these changes are less of a grand revolution and more of a texture update that becomes noticeable upon closer inspection.
At MOOD, we would like to carefully examine such “changes that only those in the know will understand.” What CHANEL will leave behind, what it unravels, and what it knits anew. That movement should provide significant clues for understanding the future of luxury as a whole.
