Fashion is in a state of flux. That was clear at the spring/summer 2025 shows in Paris, where brands attempted to chart a path forward, having felt the sting of China’s economic slowdown and a prolonged downturn in luxury spending globally. Some have also had to contend with transitions in creative direction amid evolving consumer preferences, resulting in less convincing collections.
For Chanel, the lack of a designer is still a missing piece of the puzzle. But not for long, according to president of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky, who says an appointment will be made by the end of the month. That’s good news for the world’s second-largest personal luxury brand, which has been without an artistic director since June, when Virginie Viard stepped down, capping a career of almost three decades at the house.
(Viard became creative director at Chanel in 2019 following the death of Karl Lagerfeld.) One ill-fitting appointment could divert Chanel off its double-digit growth path (it reached US$19.7billion in 2023).
Pavlovsky (and global chief executive Leena Nair) is moving cautiously. “You have some designers who are very talented, but when they join a brand, you see [them] and forget the brand. We are not looking for this kind of designer, but one who is ready to support the brand, to help it develop and modernise.
It’s important that this person is not doing that for just two or three years. [We want to] build the next 10 years together.” Chanel recently purchased a propert.