Is The Chanel Job Right For Matthieu Blazy?

The everlasting hunt for a new creative director at Chanel may finally be ending, according to a new report from WWD. On Friday, the outlet’s sources revealed that the legacy French fashion house plans on announcing Virginie Viard’s successor in mid-December — and that many signs are pointing to Matthieu Blazy for the role. The Paris-born designer — responsible for transforming Bottega Veneta into one of the sought-after labels in Milan (raking in €836 million EUR in revenue in the first half of this year, up 3% on a comparable basis to the same period last year) — has “emerged as a new contender” for Chanel’s top seat, the same sources said. Bottega Veneta has reportedly already started looking for Blazy’s replacement, gauging interest from its second-in-line designers. Chanel, Blazy and Bottega-owner Kering have not offered comments on the news. The rumor mill has worked overtime on the matter of Chanel’s creative directorship ever since Virginie Viard departed from the label’s helm in June. Previous whispers suggested that John Galliano might take the role; however, since a prominent Jewish family owns the brand, Galliano’s antisemitic past could stifle those conversations. Other common theories said that Hedi Slimane, Jeremy Scott, Sarah Burton or Marc Jacobs could take Chanel’s reigns, and WWD‘s sources claim that the House has interviewed Pieter Mulier, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Jacobs and Scott for the job. Blazy is a newer name in the mix, but the designer, who attended