Virginie Viard Bids Farewell to Chanel, After 5 Years
Virginie Viard is stepping down as Chanel’s Artistic Director of Fashion collections after five years, closing a significant chapter for the brand.
As many people know, Viard has been a vital part of Chanel for decades. She has had one of the most prestigious and coveted positions in fashion. Viard worked alongside Karl Lagerfeld and took over his position after he passed away in 2019. The only other person who served as the Artistic Director of Fashion collections was co-founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
After 30 years, including the last five years as artistic director, Virginie Viard is exiting Chanel. pic.twitter.com/0i13ZUUtKZ
— Couture is Beyond (@CoutureIsBeyond) June 5, 2024
The luxury house confirmed Viard’s departure and acknowledged the work she’s done in a press statement to CNN. They explained that the designer “was able to renew the codes of the house while respecting the creative heritage of Chanel, and almost thirty years within the house.”
Chanel’s chief executive Leena Nair also told The Business of Fashion “The Chanel fashion business has multiplied by 2.2. The Chanel ready-to-wear business has been multiplied by 2.5, and the ready-to-wear business last year of Chanel grew by 23%,” since Viard took over.
CHANEL Haute-Couture SS23
— Thomas. (@t_gttn) January 24, 2023
By Virginie Viard
Set design by Xavier Veilhan pic.twitter.com/2h7kE0USWW
Lagerfeld continues to be one of the biggest names in fashion, however, his death in 2019 took a toll on the fashion world. That aside, he and Viard had a pretty close relationship at Chanel. In the late 1980s, she worked as an intern at Chanel and eventually became very close with the German designer. So much so that Lagerfeld described her as “my right arm and my left arm.” For that reason, Viard becoming his successor was no surprise.
Karl Lagerfeld is joined by Virginie Viard and his cast of models at the end of the #CHANELSpringSummer 2019 show in Paris. #CHANELByTheSea #PFW pic.twitter.com/doLJVGhSzH
— CHANEL (@CHANEL) October 2, 2018
Chanel has yet to announce who will succeed Viard, but we can’t wait to see what Chanel has in store for the next season. During her time as artistic director, Viard took a much more understated approach by having catwalks on the streets of Manchester and near the banks of the Seine River.
Many people believed that while she brought in a great deal of revenue for the brand, fashion fanatics wanted more of the theatrics that Lagerfeld was known for with the resurgence of runway popularity. Stay tuned to hear about the new artistic director at Glitter.
Virginie Viard’s Chanel was not exactly “fresh” being as though she was Karl’s right-hand for 25 years. It’s time we see a fully fleshed out new era of the brand with a completely different perspective. A whole new world. The possibilities are endless. pic.twitter.com/ue17VeA0Q8
— keith (@FvshionsWarrior) June 5, 2024
