Several labels, including Chanel and Bottega, have made major announcements this week, and more are coming soon. What does it all mean?
This has been a banger of a week for fashion news. First up, Dries Van Noten announced that Julian Klausner, the longtime number-two to the house’s founder, would take over as creative director. Next came John Galliano’s heartfelt Instagram statement explaining his departure from Maison Margiela. But arguably the two biggest announcements were reserved for Thursday, when it was revealed that Louise Trotter, formerly of Carven, will take over for Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta, and that Blazy is headed to Chanel for the widely speculated-over, highly coveted gig as creative director.
Over the last few months, all anyone could talk about in this industry was who was going where and when. Chanel’s top job has been vacant since Virginie Viard stepped down in June, the position at Dries had been open since March, and there were been rumors flying about changes at Bottega, Dior, Margiela, and Fendi all summer and fall. In addition to this week’s news, it’s strongly believed Jonathan Anderson’s most recent show for Loewe in September may have been his last. If that’s true, and if the persistent rumors about either Martina Tiefenthaler or Glenn Martens going to Margiela prove accurate, then we’re in for an especially thrilling year (and more) to come with luxury fashion.
Ever since the pandemic, and perhaps a little before that, the top tiers of fashion have existed in a state of idleness. Trends are either dead or confusing, clothes are mostly utilitarian or monotonous, and everything is way too expensive. These things are largely the results of social media algorithms telling people how to dress and what to buy, as well as the economic downturn across the world and the increasingly competitive nature of the luxury market. While there are plenty of talented people with exciting visions working in the business right now, those who have the job of critiquing collections have said, both in writing and behind closed doors, that they feel a little bored with it all lately. If you took a shot every time a designer used the word “real” to describe their collections last season and the season before, you’d be three sheets to the wind. There is a collective sense that fashion has lost a bit of its luster and that there’s a creative void. Surprise and delight, it seems, have been hard to come by.
But the tides are turning and the vibes are shifting. Just look at the designers who swept the CFDA Awards this year: Luar’s Raul Lopez, Willy Chavarria, Diotima’s Rachel Scott, and Henry Zankov, all independent designers changing the landscape of American fashion with visions that highlight craft, creativity, lived experiences, and under-represented communities. Elsewhere, emerging labels like the LVMH prize-winning Hodakova and British designer Dilara Findokoglu have shoved their way into mass culture with major red carpet moments thanks to support from the likes of Cate Blanchett and Chloe Sevigny. That the big luxury houses are now taking chances on both relatively unknown names and next-gen talent is another huge step forward.
It started in late 2023, with Sean McGirr being appointed to lead McQueen and Sabato De Sarno taking over at Gucci. Both were behind-the-scenes guys thrust into the spotlight, and although both have been held to nearly impossible standards, they’re slowly but surely evolving the house codes in their own singular ways. Klausner and Trotter are both poised for success. Klausner has a keen understanding of the spirit of Dries van Noten, having worked so closely with the founder. And Trotter will be able to bring her incredible talents to one of Italy’s most iconic fashion houses (and a rare appointment of a female creative director!).
As for Blazy’s appointment at Chanel—which is pretty much the job every designer dreams of, even Marc Jacobs—it couldn’t feel more right. He made waves at Bottega: His storytelling was unfussy and unpretentious, but his attention to detail and love of craft was more elevated than most. The value he placed on the handmade, on artisanship, and on the humanity of design was refreshing in a business that often sells out creative possibility in the race to succeed. Blazy’s personal charm was infused into the clothes and accessories he designed, everything always made with exquisite integrity but imbued with a sense of playfulness. It was serious clothing for somewhat unserious people, including a range of celebrity fans from A$AP Rocky to Jacob Elordi to Erykah Badu and Kendall Jenner.
Fun is something Chanel has needed over the last several years. When the house’s longtime Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld passed away in 2019, he left behind an untouchable legacy. But he also left behind an open opportunity to bring back some of the cheekiness, the glamorous, sometimes bordering-on-tacky beautiful that he pioneered at Chanel. Remember the piled-on mounds of double-C necklaces layered over hot pink tweeds, the bags shaped like basketballs and grocery carts, and the runway show sets that turned the Grand Palais into movie set-level escapes? That’s the Chanel we all crave. It’s the fashion we all crave, really, a kind of return to whimsy and fantasy. With Blazy at the helm, it’s an achievable formula, made even more modern with his distinct point of view and technical genius.
Though Blazy has certainly built an impressive career thus far, he—like possible Dior contender Anderson—is part of a new wave of creatives moving the needle in fashion. 2025 and beyond is set up to be simply effervescent with fresh ideas and risk-taking propositions on the horizon.
This week was also, sadly, the week that legendary fashion editor and stylist Polly Mellen passed away at the age of 100. A fierce supporter of young and independent design and creative talent, she would have been characteristically ecstatic about this changing of the guard. In 2010, Interview magazine published a conversation between Mellen and Nicolas Ghesquiere. Discussing her time working at Harper’s Bazaar, she remembered some sound advice that editor Carmel Snow gave her, which rings truer than ever today: “Always have time to see any designer—no matter how big or small, have time to see them. You don’t have to just see the big shots. You never know what’s coming around the corner and the talent that is going to be important.”
Harpersbazaar
