Why did Matthieu Blazy choose New York for his first Chanel Métiers d'art show?
EXCLUSIVE - While awaiting the inaugural collection of its new artistic director on October 6 in Paris, the house on rue Cambon has already revealed the destination of its second show in early December: the city that never sleeps... and which the Franco-Belgian knows very well.
In 2002, Karl Lagerfeld, claiming to be bored between two ready-to-wear and haute couture collections, invented a new concept: the Métiers d'art fashion show as a tribute to the exceptional artisans of fashion, embroiderers, feather workers, jewelers, pleaters, shoemakers, hatters, and even goldsmiths. The first took place within the walls of Rue Cambon, the couturier presented his models smoking cigarettes while listening to Lou Reed. The following ones would be held outside the walls, in Paris or in faraway destinations. This unique exercise gave rise to ultra-refined and often opulent collections that are now among the clients' favorites. Like the one presented in Hangzhou, China, last December, which was a great success.
This December 2nd will be the first "Métiers d'arts" show by Matthieu Blazy, the artistic director appointed in December 2024 and who will make his debut on the Parisian runways of Fashion Week on October 6th. And so he has chosen New York. A city dear to the heart of the house , since the 1930s and Gabrielle Chanel's first trips across the Atlantic. In December 2018, Karl Lagerfeld unveiled one of his last shows there at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In spring 2023, four years after his death, the cultural institution dedicated the exhibition " Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" to him. " I am delighted that Matthieu Blazy has chosen New York for his first Métiers d'art show ," confides Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel's fashion activities. "He will bring the creative energy of the city he knows so well to the exceptional know-how of the house. "
A choice that also echoes his own life since, in 2016, Matthieu Blazy met his mentor and friend Raf Simons there, who had just taken over as director of Calvin Klein in New York. With his partner at the time and Simons' right-hand man, Pieter Mulier (now the good genius of Alaïa ), he contributed to this American adventure and discovered life - which he adored - in the Big Apple. The shows caused a sensation, but the Calvin Klein group, which at the time generated its revenue from jeans and elastic briefs, did not follow. The adventure ended with losses and a crash. Matthieu Blazy was ready to stop everything, he even inquired at American universities about training in art curation. But, after a necessary break in Los Angeles, he returned to Paris in 2020 and joined the Bottega Veneta studio. Two years later, appointed artistic director, he caused a sensation on the Milanese catwalks. Which will land her one of the hottest jobs in the fashion industry: Chanel...
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