Matthieu Blazy is Chanel’s new creative director. After three years at the helm of Bottega Veneta, designer Matthieu Blazy has been announced as the new creative director of Chanel. With his first collection due in October, he’ll be taking over the post from Virginie Viard, who held the post of creative director for the past five years, and was a staple part of the design team alongside Karl Lagerfeld for three decades. Blazy is the house’s first external hire as creative director since Lagerfeld himself, who joined a decade after Coco Chanel’s death.Kering, parent company of Bottega Veneta, thanked Blazy for “his transformative contributions” to the brand. Bottega’s new creative director will be Louise Trotter, currently at Carven. She is set to join the house in January next year.