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Chanel’s artistic director Virginie Viard is leaving the luxurious style home, capping a profession of virtually three many years on the group, which is but to call a alternative.
Viard was appointed artistic director in 2019 following the dying of German designer Karl Lagerfeld.
“Chanel confirms the departure of Virginie Viard after a wealthy collaboration of 5 years as creative director of style collections,” the corporate mentioned on Thursday, including {that a} new artistic staff could be introduced “in the end”. It didn’t say exactly when Viard would depart.
Privately held Chanel has annual revenues of about $20bn, which rose 16 per cent final yr, regardless of a softening marketplace for luxurious globally following a pandemic-era procuring increase. The model based by legendary French designer Coco Chanel has greater than doubled in dimension since 2018, and is among the many largest in gross sales within the trade after LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton.
Chief govt Leena Nair shrugged off questions on an imminent departure of the designer final month, saying Viard had overseen robust progress in ladies’s ready-to-wear, which had greater than doubled its gross sales throughout her time on the helm.
Nevertheless, Chanel, which sits on the prime of the luxurious pyramid close to high-end manufacturers resembling Hermès and is well-known for its costly tweed fits for girls, has confronted unusually public criticism lately as some clients have complained about steep worth rises and falling high quality on a few of its merchandise.
The common worth of luxurious items tracked by HSBC has risen 50 per cent since 2019, whereas the price of a traditional Chanel flap bag has greater than doubled to prime €10,000 in the identical interval. Chanel says its worth will increase replicate larger prices of supplies and inflation, and that it’ll keep its present insurance policies.
Viard’s creations for Chanel have additionally been criticised for missing the imaginative and prescient and aptitude with which Lagerfeld imbued the model’s clothes and runway exhibits — though Chanel praised her for “renewing the codes of the Home whereas respecting the artistic heritage” of the model.
Executives have expressed a extra cautious outlook for this yr however mentioned the model would proceed to construct on document investments in its operations and picture, with plans to extend that by not less than 50 per cent in 2024.
The corporate, which is owned by the billionaire Wertheimer household and headquartered in London, informed the Monetary Instances final month that it was on the hunt for prime actual property offers amid a rush by luxurious teams to safe essentially the most unique areas for its manufacturers. It’ll proceed to do offers to additional combine its provide chain, mentioned world chief monetary officer Philippe Blondiaux.
