Matthieu Blazy (born 1984) is a French-Belgian designer. He began his fashion career as a menswear designer for Raf Simons, later moving to Maison Martin Margiela, where he worked on the label’s

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

artisanal line and women’s ready-to-wear collections. He is the creative director of

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

. From 2021 to 2024, he was the creative director of

Bottega Veneta Bottega Veneta S.r.l () is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Milan, Italy. Its product lines include ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, accessories, jewellery and fragrances. Bottega Veneta is headquartered in Milan, Italy, with its main at ...

Early Life

Blazy was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His father was an art expert and his mother a historian and researcher. He has an older brother who is an airplane pilot and a twin sister who works in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. During high school, Blazy attended

Pangbourne College Pangbourne College is a mixed-sex education, coeducational Public school (UK), public school (private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school), for pupils aged 13-18 years, in Pangbourne, Berkshire, England. It is set in 230 acres ...

for a year. He graduated from

La Cambre L'École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre (ENSAV), more known as La Cambre, is a renowned visual arts school founded by Henry van de Velde in Brussels in 1926. It was founded as the ''Institut supérieur des Arts décoratifs' ...

fashion school in Brussels; his graduate collection was about Claudie Haigneré. He did his internships at

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

and

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was the creative director ...

Career

Early career

Raf Simons was a member of the jury of Blazy's graduate collection and hired him on the spot. Blazy brought bolder geometrical patterns to Simons' collections. In 2011, Blazy became a designer at

Maison Margiela Maison Margiela, formerly ''Maison Martin Margiela'', is a French luxury fashion house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela and Jenny Meirens in 1988 and headquartered in Paris. The house produces both haute couture-inspired artisanal c ...

, at a time when the design team was anonymous, and where he experimented with advanced collage techniques. In July 2014, ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'''s

Suzy Menkes Suzy Peta Menkes (born 24 December 1943) is a British journalist and fashion critic. Formerly the fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune, Menkes also served as editor, Vogue International, for 25 international editions of '' Vogue ...

revealed Blazy after the presentation of Margiela's Artisanal collection he had designed, stating "you can't keep such a talent under wraps." He then designed the ''Ye'' encrusted mask worn by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

during the 2013 Yeezus tour. In November 2014, Blazy joined

Phoebe Philo Phoebe Philo OBE (born 25 October 1973) is an English fashion designer. She was the creative director of fashion brands Céline from 2008 to 2017 and Chloé from 2001 to 2006. Her eponymous line launched in 2023. Early life Background Philo ...

's team as senior designer of Celine working on pre-collections. In August 2016, he was appointed design director of women's ready-to-wear of

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

under Raf Simons. He left Calvin Klein in 2019.

Bottega Veneta, 2020–2024

In 2020, Blazy became design director of ready-to-wear at

. In November 2021, he was appointed creative director of Bottega Veneta. Blazy brought an inclusive management style ("egalitarian" according to

Anne Collier Anne Collier (born Los Angeles, 1970) is an American visual artist working with appropriated photographic images. Describing Collier's work in ''Frieze'' art magazine, writer Brian Dillon said, "Collier uncouples the machinery of appropriation so ...

), shrank the design team, and got the craftspeople involved in the creative process. He introduced the ''

trompe-l'œil ; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...

'' denim leather pants (2021), the ''intrecciato''-woven handbags Kalimero (2022) and Andiamo (2023), and the knitted leather sock-slippers (2023). He was dubbed the "Magician of Milan" by

Vanessa Friedman Vanessa Victoria Friedman (born December 4, 1967) is an American fashion journalist who has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic of ''The New York Times'' since 2014. She previously worked at other publications, including the ''Fi ...

. In September 2023, the brand opened its flagship store in Paris on

avenue Montaigne The Avenue Montaigne () is a street in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Origin of the name The Avenue Montaigne was originally called the Allée des Veuves ("Widows' Alley") because women in mourning gathered ...

, the first designed by Blazy. As part of his duties, he designed the costumes of the Venice Dance Biennale. In December 2024, Bottega Veneta announced Blazy's departure from the brand.

Chanel

In December 2024, Blazy was named creative director of

Personal life

Blazy was in a relationship with fellow fashion designer Pieter Mulier until 2023.

(20 September 2023)
The Magician of Milan
�''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1984 births Living people Belgian fashion designers French fashion designers LGBTQ fashion designers