Introduction
Matthieu Blazy is a French-Belgian designer whose career developed through Raf Simons, Maison Martin Margiela, Céline, Calvin Klein and Bottega Veneta. At Maison Margiela he led Artisanal and ready-to-wear within the house’s collective credit system; at Bottega Veneta, where he became creative director in 2021, he built collections around leather craft, trompe-l’œil and clothing tested through movement.
Chanel announced Blazy as artistic director of fashion activities on 12 December 2024. He assumed studio control on 1 April 2025, after the in-house Fashion Creation Studio had carried the collections through the vacancy following Virginie Viard’s departure. His first Chanel runway collection was Spring/Summer 2026, shown on 6 October 2025, followed by a New York Métiers d’art show, a January 2026 couture debut and a Cruise collection presented in Biarritz.
The opening period also altered the studio and supply network. Andrew Heather joined the couture team, Charvet shirting entered the debut collection, and Chanel acquired Charvet in July 2026. The sequence places Blazy’s work within both atelier authorship and corporate investment, with material decisions feeding directly into the house’s production structure.
Design ethos
Blazy uses technical transformation to alter how material is perceived. Leather can imitate denim or flannel, beaded silk can register as worn workwear, and familiar wardrobe pieces reveal their value through touch, movement and close construction rather than logo scale.
At Maison Margiela, Artisanal established the importance of recovered matter, handwork and anonymous studio labour. At Bottega Veneta, that discipline entered a broad wardrobe through fluid tailoring, intrecciato, sculpted knitwear and objects made to read differently from a distance and at close range.
His Chanel work applies the method to tweed, jersey, quilting and costume jewellery while exposing more of the garment’s structure. Raw edges, lighter internal construction and material illusion make the archive a technical problem for the ateliers, not simply an image to be repeated.
Disclaimer
Career history
2025
The Blazy studio took shape in June 2025 through appointments including Andrew Heather in haute couture. The recruitment connected Chanel’s ateliers to experience from Maison Margiela Artisanal, Givenchy and Celine without transferring individual collection authorship to the new hire.
2025
Matthieu Blazy assumed control of the Chanel fashion studio on 1 April 2025 after the end of his prior contractual restrictions. Collections already in development remained attributed to the Fashion Creation Studio until his authored debut later that year.
2024
Chanel announced Matthieu Blazy as artistic director of fashion activities on 12 December 2024. The appointment gave him authority across couture, ready-to-wear and accessories, with an effective studio start delayed until April 2025.
2022
Matthieu Blazy opened his Bottega Veneta tenure with a debut built around craft, material illusion and quiet authority.
2021
Matthieu Blazy pushed Bottega Veneta toward tactile illusion, exceptional leather technique and a richer emotional realism.
2011
Matthieu Blazy joined the anonymous studio in 2011 and became head designer across Artisanal and ready-to-wear. Press reporting identified him publicly in 2014, exposing the tension between individual studio leadership and the house’s collective credit.
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