Introduction
CHANEL currently has no creative director. Since the departure of Virginie Viard in 2024, the brand has entered a temporary period of “creative silence” until the expected arrival of Matthieu Blazy. His first collection is rumored to debut during the Spring-Summer 2026 show at Paris Fashion Week in October 2025.
And yet, CHANEL has not paused. The house continues to present pre-collections, ready-to-wear, and Métiers d’Art collections. From the outside, this may seem curious. But within this continuity lies the structural strength of the brand—and the profound presence of its ateliers.
Who, then, is creating CHANEL’s clothes today?
This question led me to listen closely—to the quiet, unspoken time within the brand’s history.
The Past: When CHANEL Spoke Loudly
Under Karl Lagerfeld’s direction, CHANEL’s collections transcended fashion—they became spectacles. Rockets launched into the sky, glaciers appeared indoors, and runways transformed into airports, supermarkets, libraries, and enchanted forests. Each show transported audiences to an entirely different world.
These stagings were not mere decoration. They visually conveyed the collection’s concept and message, telling stories that captivated and entertained. With surprise and whimsy at their core, Karl’s CHANEL made storytelling itself a powerful element of the brand’s identity.
Even after his passing, the echoes of that expressive CHANEL—the one that delighted in making bold statements—can still be heard in the voices of those who fondly remember his era.
The Present: When CHANEL Speaks Quietly
Today, CHANEL’s presentations have taken on a quieter tone. Lavish spectacles have given way to more restrained expressions, and yet—that does not mean the stories are gone.
In the 2025 pre-collection, for instance, looks adorned with imitation pearls—Coco Chanel’s signature—appeared with a modern lightness layered over classic silhouettes.
The ready-to-wear collection, featuring a set reminiscent of the white birdcage once placed on the Grand Palais runway, evoked a refined, timeless elegance.
At West Lake in Hangzhou, the Métiers d’Art collection drew inspiration from the lacquered Chinese screens that Gabrielle Chanel cherished, offering a vision of delicate and deeply layered aesthetic sensibility.
And the latest collection, inspired by BLACKPINK’s Jennie, introduced a youthful, casual energy—subtly reaching toward a new generation.
These narratives are not explicitly told. Rather, they are gently placed—in the details of the garments, in the architecture of the space.
When I visited a CHANEL boutique, I found myself sensing traces of Coco Chanel’s philosophy in the subtle lines and carefully crafted details.
There, quietly, beauty spoke—not in words, but in presence.
@2025PhiloMode
The Aesthetic Hand of the Atelier
Within CHANEL’s ateliers are the masters of craftsmanship: Lesage, Montex, Lemarié, Massaro—names synonymous with embroidery, embellishment, featherwork, and shoemaking. These artisans carry decades of experience in their respective métiers, preserving and evolving the savoir-faire that defines the house.
In the absence of a creative director, their “hands” have taken on renewed importance. Decisions about silhouettes, the placement of details, and the selection of materials are entrusted to the quiet intelligence and aesthetic judgment of the atelier.
When I visited a CHANEL boutique, I was struck by the sensation that the garments were speaking—not in words, but through texture, weight, and proportion. The feel of the tweed, the heft of a gold button, the placement of a pocket—each detail seemed to hold a quiet philosophy, a kind of intention that arose not from verbal narrative, but from the hands that shaped it.
This silent presence of the hand will soon become more visible to the public in Japan.
From September 30 to October 20, 2025, the exhibition la Galerie du 19M Tokyo will be held on the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower.
This immersive experience, traveling from Paris to Tokyo, invites visitors into the world of CHANEL’s Métiers d’Art—a world of surprise, emotion, and dialogue shaped by the skilled hands of artisans.
https://www.chanel.com/jp/fashion/event/opening-gallery-19m-tokyo-2025/
Designed as a space for wonder, surprise, and dialogue, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to engage with the métiers d’art—the exceptional craftsmanship that defines CHANEL—and the work of artisans from the eleven maisons gathered at le19M.
It is not merely an exhibition. It is an experience—one through which visitors can sense the essence of an “unspoken CHANEL,” not through language, but through encounter.
That such an atelier-centered event is being held now seems, in itself, a quiet yet powerful gesture from CHANEL—a reflection of the house’s current stance.
Today, CHANEL’s clothing no longer seeks to astonish with theatrics. Instead, it leaves a lasting impression through its restraint.
Classic tweed jackets and tailored sets—the very forms Coco Chanel once shaped—now appear with even greater clarity and natural presence.
Clothes that do not shout may, in time, be the ones that endure.
For those who were drawn to the drama of CHANEL’s past shows, today’s collections may feel subdued. But for those who have long yearned for the timeless pieces—the icons that define the house—this quiet season may offer a rare and welcome opportunity.
A Return to the Essentials
Today’s CHANEL collections may no longer dazzle with dramatic innovation or theatrical sets. But in their place, something quieter—and perhaps more enduring—has emerged: a renewed focus on the house’s core essentials, such as tweed jackets and elegant sets.
This shift offers an opportunity to reconnect with the essence of CHANEL. For many, the tweed jacket has long been an object of aspiration—something to one day own. And yet, amid the spectacle and exclusivity of past seasons, it may have been easy to overlook.
Now, in the absence of noise, there is space to truly see the clothes.
This quiet moment allows us to engage with each piece more deeply, to appreciate its form, craftsmanship, and meaning.
It may just be the perfect time to rediscover what makes CHANEL timeless.
The Enduring Structure of CHANEL
A luxury brand like CHANEL is never driven by a single designer alone.
Its strength lies in a complex structure—woven from its history, its artisans, its relationships with clients, and its enduring approach to storytelling and marketing.
Consider how brands like CELINE continued after Phoebe Philo’s departure, or how DRIES VAN NOTEN sustained its identity even after its founder stepped down—led for a time by the internal design team.
There may have been moments of uncertainty, but the continuity never fully broke.
CHANEL, too, has persisted without a designated creative director—still presenting collections, still serving its clients.
This continuity points to something vital: the brand’s self-sustaining architecture.
CHANEL is a house that does not collapse in silence.
Its structure is strong enough to hold space for pause, for transition, for reflection.
And that is its true power.
Looking Ahead: The Appointment of Matthieu Blazy
Beginning with the Spring/Summer 2026 season, CHANEL will welcome a new Artistic Director: Matthieu Blazy.
Formerly at the helm of BOTTEGA VENETA, he gained acclaim for his architectural minimalism and his ability to elevate materials through purity of form and craft.
Quietude, sculptural elegance, and integrity in creation—these qualities define not only Blazy’s past work, but also resonate with the direction CHANEL has quietly taken through the hands of its ateliers.
Much attention now turns to how this new storyteller will step into CHANEL’s enduring structure, and how the house will begin to “speak” once more.
But before that moment arrives, I feel compelled to acknowledge the beauty that emerged in this interim—a beauty revealed not through loud declarations, but through what was left unsaid.
This quiet season deserves to be remembered.
Epilogue
Clothes that do not speak.
A silence in time.
Whether or not we find beauty there depends entirely on our own sensibilities.
Rather than seeking spectacle, we are invited to look closer—to notice what quietly resides within the stillness.
Rather than chasing pre-written narratives, we are encouraged to gather the fragments and compose meaning ourselves.
This is the posture CHANEL now gently asks of us.
These garments, spun by hand, do not raise their voices.
Yet in their presence, something essential is conveyed.
And so, I will continue to engage with them—quietly, attentively—
choosing to read CHANEL in my own way.
