Chanel is betting its new artistic director can fill Karl Lagerfeld's shoes — not everyone is convinced

• Chanel announced Matthieu Blazy is taking over as the house's artistic director.
• Blazy, coming from Bottega Veneta, is stepping into a coveted role once held by Karl Lagerfeld.
• He helped Bottega Veneta defy the luxury slump, but skeptics question if he can fill Lagerfeld's boots.

After months and months of rumors, Chanel has finally named its new artistic director.

Late Thursday evening, the century-old French Maison announced that 40-year-old Parisian designer Matthieu Blazy is getting one of the most coveted roles in fashion.

Blazy, who spent the last three years steering the ship at Bottega Veneta, is replacing Virginie Viard, a Chanel stalwart who stunned the industry by stepping down from the role in June after five years.

Viard was a longtime collaborator and protégé of Karl Lagerfeld, who became synonymous with Chanel after holding the title of creative director for over 30 years until his death in 2019.

Following Blazy's appointment, Alain Wertheimer, Global Executive Chairman, and Leena Nair, Global CEO of Chanel, released a joint statement calling him "one of the most gifted designers of his generation."

While they are "confident" he can "write a new page" in Chanel's history, industry insiders will withhold judgment until his first collection debuts in September 2025.

"He's created a name for himself, and it's true that Bottega has become one of the biggest brands lately, and the turnaround has been fantastic," Blanca Zugaza Escribano, a fashion and luxury consultant at Metyis, told Business Insider. "But is he at the level of a Karl Lagerfeld?"

The biggest shoes in fashion to fill

What Blazy does have going in his favor is that he helped Bottega Veneta, where British Louise Trotter will be taking up the mantle, remain resilient amid an industry-wide slump.

Out of the top brands owned by Kering, including Gucci and Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta was the only one to deliver positive earnings in its most recent quarter. Revenue was at €397 million ($416 million), up 4% year-on-year.

"My impression is that he will be a committed brand steward who respects the history and heritage of Chanel while innovating for the future," Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, told BI.

Still, Bottega Veneta's recent successes pale compared to the stable growth of fashion heavyweights like Hermès and Chanel, which, unlike many of their luxury peers, have avoided chopping and changing leadership and chasing trends to bolster sales and brand growth.

Escribano said that Chanel's strategy is similar to that of Hermès, which Martin Roll, global business strategist and senior advisor at consulting giant McKinsey, previously told BI is a brand that has found success by playing the long game with "stability in the ownership" and "leadership stability."

Escribano said it's surprising Chanel is looking for a new designer to inject new energy and vision.

"People are not tired or bored of the classic Chanel," Escribano said. "If something's not broken, why fix it?"

While Blazy will technically be stepping into Viard's shoes, her links to Lagerfeld leave little doubt that it's actually the legacy of the late German designer that Chanel's newcomer has to live up to.

"He's young, and he's modern for a role that's so iconic and classic," Escribano said.

One of the biggest challenges will be whether Blazy can align himself with Chanel's CEO and team, who have been there since Lagerfeld's days.

To follow in Lagerfeld's footsteps, Pedraza said Blazy will have to be the kind of creative director who can "seamlessly optimize, not compromise, the brand past and present with the brand future."

"The best creative directors can leave the brand better than they found it through innovation while maintaining the DNA and identity of the brand," he said.