CHANEL - Inside the brand

This ongoing dialogue between heritage, creativity, and the future of luxury will also be at the heart of ESADE Fashion's upcoming event, Chanel and Beyond. An opportunity to discover the world behind one of fashion's most influential Houses and explore the vision, craftsmanship, and people who continue to shape its identity.

The House That Refuses to Stand Still

There is something almost paradoxical about Chanel. Few fashion houses are so immediately recognisable, yet few have been reinvented so many times. The tweed jacket, the quilted handbag, the two-tone shoes, the pearls: these are not simply accessories or garments. They are pieces of a visual language that has survived more than a century of changing tastes, creative revolutions, and shifting ideas of femininity.

And yet, the woman who created this language was anything but traditional.

Gabrielle Chanel built her reputation by challenging the very conventions that defined elegance in her time. She borrowed from men's wardrobes, rejected restrictive silhouettes, and made simplicity a statement of modernity. Ironically, the codes born from this desire to break with tradition would eventually become some of fashion's most carefully preserved symbols.

That contradiction has followed Chanel ever since.

Karl Lagerfeld turned its heritage into a playground for creative experimentation, making tweed jackets and pearls feel provocative again. Virginie Viard brought a different sensibility, introducing a more relaxed wardrobe and new accessories that found their place alongside the House's historical icons. Today, Matthieu Blazy is approaching the same codes with fresh eyes, questioning not what Chanel should look like, but what it should feel like.

Four creative visions. One unmistakable identity.

But perhaps the most fascinating thing about Chanel is not how much it has changed. It is how, through every transformation, it has managed to remain entirely itself.

Gabrielle Chanel: The Original Rule Breaker

Before Chanel, there was Worth. In the mid-nineteenth century, Charles Frederick Worth laid the foundations of Haute Couture as we know it, turning dressmaking into an art and Paris into fashion's undisputed capital. His world was one of elaborate gowns, exquisite fabrics, and carefully constructed silhouettes. Beautiful, certainly. But by the beginning of the twentieth century, Gabrielle Chanel had a rather different idea of what women should be wearing.

And she wasn't particularly interested in following the rules.

Her story began in 1910, with a small hat boutique at 21 rue Cambon in Paris. Soon, however, hats were no longer enough. In Deauville, where she opened a boutique in 1913, and later in Biarritz in 1915, Chanel began experimenting with a new kind of wardrobe. Inspired by men's clothing, sportswear, and the effortless elegance of seaside life, she borrowed pieces and fabrics that had little to do with traditional women's fashion. Jersey, once largely reserved for underwear and practical garments, suddenly became chic.

It was a simple idea, but a rather revolutionary one: why should women have to choose between looking elegant and feeling comfortable?

Chanel's answer was that they shouldn't.

She wasn't just designing clothes; she was introducing an entirely new attitude towards fashion. One where simplicity could be luxurious, where freedom of movement mattered, and where elegance had more to do with confidence than decoration.

And from that attitude came the icons we still recognise today.

The little black dress in 1926, Chanel N°5 in 1921, the tweed suit, the quilted 2.55 handbag in 1955, and the two-tone slingback in 1957. Each had its own story, but they all shared something distinctly Chanel: a clever balance between beauty and practicality. The 2.55's shoulder strap left women's hands free, the jacket's supple construction made it comfortable to move in, and the contrasting toe of the slingback was designed to make the foot appear smaller.

What makes these creations so fascinating is that they were never intended to become museum pieces. They were designed for women to actually live in. Yet, decades later, they have become some of the most recognisable symbols in fashion.

Of course, Chanel's story was not without its darker chapters. Her couture house closed during the Second World War, a period marked by controversy surrounding her wartime associations. She returned to fashion in 1954, at 71, proving that she still had plenty to say about how women should dress.

When Gabrielle Chanel died in 1971, she left behind far more than a successful fashion house. She had created a language of her own, one built on freedom, simplicity, and an unmistakable sense of style.

There was just one question left: what happens when the woman who created the rules is no longer there to break them?

In 1983, Karl Lagerfeld would come along with a rather spectacular answer.

Karl Lagerfeld: The Man Who Made Chanel Play Again

When Karl Lagerfeld arrived at Chanel in 1983, he inherited something extraordinary, but also rather complicated. The House had an unmistakable identity, a legendary founder, and some of fashion's most recognisable creations. What it needed, however, was a new sense of excitement.

And if there was one thing Karl Lagerfeld knew how to do, it was to make fashion exciting.

Rather than treating Gabrielle Chanel's legacy as something too precious to touch, he decided to have fun with it. The tweed jacket became cropped, oversized, colourful, sometimes paired with denim or miniskirts. Pearls were layered almost excessively, chains became bolder, and the famous interlocking Cs appeared everywhere. What had once represented a certain idea of classic Parisian elegance suddenly felt young, playful, and even a little provocative.

Lagerfeld understood that Chanel's greatest strength was also his greatest creative opportunity: its codes were so recognisable that he could reinvent them almost endlessly without losing the House's identity.

And he certainly didn't stop at the clothes.

In the 1990s, Chanel became inseparable from the golden age of supermodels. Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and the other defining faces of the decade brought a new kind of glamour to the House. Chanel was no longer simply something to admire; it was something a new generation wanted to be part of.

Then came the shows. And calling them fashion shows almost feels like an understatement.

Under the glass roof of the Grand Palais, Lagerfeld transformed the runway into an entire world of its own. A Chanel supermarket in 2014, an airport terminal in 2015, a rocket launch in 2017, and even a beach complete with real water in 2018. Every season became an event, and every event made people talk about Chanel far beyond the fashion industry.

But behind all that spectacle was something Lagerfeld took extremely seriously: craftsmanship.

He understood that Chanel's magic did not come only from its image, but also from the extraordinary hands behind its creations. During his years at the House, Chanel strengthened its commitment to preserving specialist ateliers, from embroidery and featherwork to millinery and shoemaking. The Métiers d'art collections, introduced in 2002, became a way of celebrating these exceptional skills and bringing the artisans themselves into the spotlight.

This balance between creativity and craftsmanship became one of the defining strengths of his Chanel. He could turn a runway into a supermarket while ensuring that the jacket walking through it represented hours of meticulous work.

Over 36 years, Lagerfeld did far more than revive a historic fashion house. He transformed Chanel into a global cultural phenomenon, proving that heritage could be playful, provocative, and endlessly relevant.

And perhaps that was his greatest achievement: he made Chanel feel new again, without ever making it feel like anything other than Chanel.

When Lagerfeld passed away in 2019, he left behind an extraordinary creative legacy. But he also left the House in the hands of someone who had spent decades working closely alongside him, and who would soon bring a very different sensibility to Chanel: Virginie Viard.

Virginie Viard: Chanel, Through a Woman's Eyes

If anyone knew Chanel from the inside, it was Virginie Viard.

When she took over the creative direction of the House in 2019, she was far from a newcomer. Having joined Chanel in 1987, she had spent decades working closely with Karl Lagerfeld, becoming one of his most trusted collaborators and playing an essential role in bringing his extraordinary ideas to life. She knew the collections, the ateliers, the craftsmanship, and perhaps most importantly, the women who wore Chanel.

But knowing a House so intimately does not mean seeing it in exactly the same way.

Viard brought her own sensibility to Chanel, one that felt more instinctive, romantic, and effortlessly feminine. Her vision was less about creating a spectacular fashion moment and more about imagining how women might actually want to dress. Tweed jackets appeared with shorts, skirts became lighter and more fluid, and familiar Chanel silhouettes took on a more relaxed attitude.

There was something refreshing about this approach. Chanel could be elegant without being overly formal, sophisticated without looking too carefully put together. Her collections often drew inspiration from cinema, music, and the artistic spirit of Paris, creating a wardrobe that felt personal rather than prescriptive.

And Viard was not simply reinterpreting existing icons. She was creating new ones.

In 2022, she introduced the Chanel 22, a soft, oversized handbag that quickly became one of the House's most recognisable contemporary designs. With its relaxed silhouette, practical shape, and bold Chanel lettering, it reflected the same effortless spirit that ran through her collections. The Chanel 19, introduced in 2019 and developed during the final period of collaboration between Lagerfeld and Viard, also marked an evolution in the House's leather goods, with its supple structure and distinctive oversized chain.

These bags brought something new to an accessories universe already dominated by legendary designs such as the 2.55 and the Classic Flap. They showed that even at a House with such a powerful heritage, there was still room to create new objects of desire.

Of course, Viard's Chanel did not always receive unanimous praise. Her collections sometimes divided critics, particularly those who missed Lagerfeld's theatricality. But perhaps comparing the two too closely misses the point.

Virginie Viard was not trying to recreate Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel. She was expressing her own.

Over five years, she offered a different perspective on the Chanel woman: someone who could wear tweed with a certain nonchalance, mix elegance with everyday comfort, and embrace femininity without feeling constrained by it.

Her contribution was not simply to preserve an extraordinary legacy, but to add her own chapter to it.

And in a House built on the idea of women dressing for themselves, there is something particularly meaningful about that.

Matthieu Blazy: A New Chapter, A New Universe

In December 2024, Chanel made one of the most anticipated announcements in recent fashion history: Matthieu Blazy, the creative mind behind Bottega Veneta's remarkable transformation, would become its new Artistic Director of Fashion Activities.

Announced by the House, with Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel Fashion, among the key figures welcoming his appointment, the decision marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter. Blazy had already made a name for himself through his extraordinary attention to craftsmanship, his fascination with materials, and his ability to make even the simplest garments feel unexpected. At Bottega Veneta, what looked like an ordinary pair of jeans could actually be made entirely of leather. Nothing was quite what it seemed.

And that curiosity was exactly what he brought to Chanel.

When he presented his first collection in October 2025, expectations could hardly have been higher. But rather than simply introducing a new wardrobe, Blazy invited his audience into an entirely new universe. Quite literally.

The Grand Palais had been transformed into a spectacular solar system, with enormous illuminated planets suspended above the runway. A reference to Gabrielle Chanel's fascination with astrology, the setting immediately established the spirit of his new direction: imaginative, emotional, and deeply connected to the House's history.

And the clothes told the same story.

The iconic Chanel jacket was reimagined through masculine tailoring, the familiar quilted handbag became softer and more flexible, and unexpected combinations of fabrics brought a new sense of movement to the silhouettes. Blazy was not interested in simply reproducing Chanel's most famous creations. He wanted to understand what had made them revolutionary in the first place, and what they could become today.

But perhaps what makes his Chanel particularly fascinating is the attention given to every single detail.

For Blazy, a fashion show is not just a presentation of clothes. It is a story in which the setting, the music, the accessories, and the smallest elements of a garment all belong to the same world. Nothing feels entirely accidental. Every detail contributes to an atmosphere, an emotion, or an idea.

His Spring/Summer 2027 show offered a particularly beautiful example.

In October 2026, the Grand Palais became a poetic landscape beneath an extraordinary flock of illuminated birds. But these birds were far more than a spectacular decoration. They represented freedom, movement, and the extraordinary journey of Gabrielle Chanel herself.

The collection explored the many versions of Gabrielle throughout her life, from the young woman constrained by the conventions of her time to the designer who would eventually transform them. The opening look, a delicate white dress accompanied by Gabrielle Chanel's own archival 2.55 handbag, brought the past directly onto the runway. Even the evolution of the silhouettes, from references to historical corsetry to lighter, more fluid tailoring, reflected this journey towards freedom.

The story came full circle when the same archival handbag returned for the finale.

It is this kind of thoughtful storytelling that gives Blazy's collections their particular charm. The spectacle is there, certainly, but it is never the whole point. Behind the beauty of the setting lies a genuine conversation with the history of the House.

And that conversation extends to the craftsmanship itself. Through innovative fabrics, unexpected textures, and new interpretations of tweed, Blazy is exploring how Chanel's most familiar codes can feel completely different without losing their identity.

There is something rather wonderful about this approach. More than a century after Gabrielle Chanel began challenging the conventions of women's fashion, Blazy is returning to that same spirit of curiosity and freedom.

His Chanel feels playful, sophisticated, sometimes surprising, but always deeply connected to the woman who started it all.

And perhaps that is what makes this new chapter so exciting: Blazy is not simply giving Chanel a new look. He is giving us a new way of looking at Chanel.

Beyond Fashion: The Power of Chanel

What makes Chanel so fascinating is that its influence has never stopped at fashion.

From the unmistakable bottle of N°5 to its iconic handbags, fine jewellery, beauty, and Haute Couture, Chanel has created something far greater than a collection of products: an entire universe. One where every creation, however different, carries the same unmistakable identity.

But behind this effortless image lies an extraordinary commitment to craftsmanship. Through its Métiers d'art ateliers and le19M, Chanel continues to preserve and celebrate the exceptional skills that make its creations possible. And as a privately owned House, held by the Wertheimer family, it has been able to invest in this heritage with a long-term vision.

Perhaps that is the real secret behind.

Chanel's enduring influence. It is not simply about creating beautiful things, but about building a world people want to be part of, generation after generation.

The Art of Remaining Chanel

From Gabrielle Chanel's revolutionary spirit to Karl Lagerfeld's creative audacity, Virginie Viard's personal vision, and Matthieu Blazy's fresh perspective, each chapter has brought something different to the House.

And yet, Chanel remains unmistakably Chanel.

Because perhaps the greatest luxury of all is not to remain unchanged, but to have an identity strong enough to keep evolving.

More than a century later, Chanel is still doing exactly what Gabrielle did best: refusing to stand still.