Virginie Viard designer who replaced Karl Lagerfeld is leaving Chanel

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#16
I think they will have to use the creative teams within the studio and Metiers rather than appoint a celebrity designer with an already distinctive style at this point. Maybe onboard a Creative Director slowly but not immediately there’s too much at stake to take that risk.

Virginie worked for Chanel for 30 years, her knowledge of EVERYTHING from heritage, couture, the metiers, manufacturing, client preferences, marketing etc enabled the house to have so many collections every year.

Without that depth of know-how it would send an outsider insane with the pressure to deliver every month. She didn’t design every look but she was the conductor and replacing that skill set is impossible. The reason she took over from Karl was because she essentially ran the show under him especially the last few years.

What comes next is going to be very interesting, thankfully for the company they don’t shout too loudly about design of their accessories which is all done by various teams so you’re not going to see a sudden departure from how things are now.
 
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#19
I was not a fan of the overt branding and rehashs, but I do believe that this direction was perhaps also due to compliance with corp directives and budget contrainsts that lagerfeld simply ignored.

I also tend towards pessimism as to newcomers; VV was his right hand for decades. That’s not to say that I am a fan of her work. But frankly KL alsomade some truly unwearable clothes (I’ve shopped Chanel since 2001). And, there is very little that is both wearable and not some kind of retread in fashion

I have enough where my buying patterns are simply cherry picking a few pieces when they strike my fancy. I still shop Chanel around the edges of a collection bc it tends to fit me well. also my SA really knows what works on me. I dislike change (only half joking)

Hedi Slimane is not for me. obviously I’m not really the target demographic if that appointment goes through lol

ETA: agree with @Nobmaceur13 abd others above. While I can see the comparison others make with St. John, the specific designs I gravitate towards seem very different. JMO :smile:

ETA: my chanel SA and her curation make the difference to me (I’ve only had two SAs in my shopping history at Chanel over many years, and they know what I already own and what I love even better than I do)
 
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#24
papertiger said:
HS is not a good women's wear designer IMO.
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ClassicTwist said:
Agree! Love his tailoring at Celine but I don't go there for creative, innovative pieces.
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880 said:
I also tend towards pessimism as to newcomers; VV was his right hand for decades. That’s not to say that I am a fan of her work. But frankly KL alsomade some truly unwearable clothes (I’ve shopped Chanel since 2001). And, there is very little that is both wearable and not some kind of retread in fashion

Hedi Slimane is not for me. obviously I’m not really the target demographic if that appointment goes through lol
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Virginie was a very solid and safe pick with her incredibly close work with Karl through her years at Chanel - like she put in the time and got the job. I respect that so much, like her dedication & hard work allowed her to become Chanel's Creative Director and for Chanel to recognize everything that she had done leading up to the appointment.

... while it was under sad circumstances, she earned that job through and through.

Respectfully, I love the idea of Hedi being at Chanel - Karl adored Hedi's work at Dior Homme.

But, like you say, his idea of a fantasy/whimsical collection doesn't exactly extend beyond Max Fish in a 2003 LES or the Riot House in a 70's Los Angeles... for both Saint Laurent and Celine, lol. :lol:

Super curious what the negations are looking like, if he is being considered and what sort out things would be expected of him.

It'd be interesting if they're at least very curious about bringing him in to at least start a dedicated Chanel menswear line.

eunaddict said:
If it IS Hedi, I wonder how he'll change the name.

No accent or first name for him to remove. :lol:
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Chânel

... a chapeau for Choupette!
 
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#25
I understand why Virginie Viard was constantly compared to Karl, it's pretty inevitable for anyone not to be compared to him after helming Chanel for as long as he did.

However (brace yourselves, unpopulation opinions galore are coming):
-I liked Viard's collections a lot more than Karl's, they were "normal" and wearable whereas his was very theatrical and costumey.
-Her bag collections are extremely on point. I never took a second look at Karl's designs because they have way too many fringes, studs, weird materials. Viard made bags and stuck to the classic embroidery and embellishment.
 
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#27
As others have pointed out, Chanel has a second problem (in addition to finding a successor-or successor team-to VV)---and that is the more recent quality vs. price ratio. If Chanel's only or main concern is making tons of profits, this issue is not going to resolve or improve... Sadly, I'm not optimistic about who takes over and what happens to their pricing/quality concerns, with Leena at the helm.
 
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#28
kipp said:
As others have pointed out, Chanel has a second problem (in addition to finding a successor-or successor team-to VV)---and that is the more recent quality vs. price ratio. If Chanel's only or main concern is making tons of profits, this issue is not going to resolve or improve... Sadly, I'm not optimistic about who takes over and what happens to their pricing/quality concerns, with Leena at the helm.
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Agreed, Leena needs to go.
I saw a video from Sophie Shohet who was gifted a small chanel cube bag with misaligned zipper--I can't believe that quality control allowed that to pass through. Even if it's not an item that's sold, at the end of the day, their prestige is on the line. Better to not gift than to give something so shoddy.

Those price increases should keep with inflation, otherwise you need to deliver on quality. I can understand buying intricately beaded pieces from Metiers D'Arts for $45k but increasing CF to 3X what they used to cost in a span of 3-5 years is total nonsense.
 
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#29
Fondly remember when KL was appointed to Chanel in the 80's.
The fabrics were special including grain de poudre, boucles & fantasie tweeds
as well as many collections he did. Several Haute Couture collections were knock outs &
remember when they were first shown at The Westbury Hotel on Madison Ave here in NYC
where I met Mr. Paquito (hope spelling his name correctly ) as well as Catherine Riviere who later
left & went to Dior.
He transformed Chanel.. He was brilliant & one of a kind. As closely as he & Virginie worked together
that "magic" KL brought changed in her hands.
Chanel needs to take the time to find the right designer & also to consider the price points of many
of their items. When one has a basis of comparison, Chanel has changed & in spite of gaining
new younger clients, there are many yester year clients that are taking a back seat, JMO
 
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