After three years as creative director of one of fashion’s most coveted brands, French-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy has officially left his post at Bottega Veneta. Announced in a press release via parent company Kering, the brand extends their “gratitude to Matthieu Blazy for his transformative contributions during his three years as Creative Director, and we wish him every success in his future endeavours.” The news follows speculation around Blazy’s departure, with many industry insiders expecting the designer to be named as Chanel’s new creative director.

In the same statement, Kering announced that Louise Trotter, the former creative director of Carven, would be Bottega Veneta's new creative director.

Elsewhere, the Chanel job has been fashion’s biggest talking point since it was announced that Virginie Viard would be leaving the role in June this year, and the fires have been stoked once again with Blazy’s latest move. Safe to say the industry is on tenterhooks. 

Today’s news may also come as a shock to some, given Bottega’s impressive sales growth – it was Kering’s best-performing brand in the third quarter of 2024 – as well as its rise in becoming one of the most revered shows on the fashion week calendar. That said, Blazy is certainly leaving on a high, with his most recent SS25 collection adored by fans and critics alike.

Previously, the 40-year-old designer cut his teeth interning for Balenciaga and John Galliano, though soon caught the attention of Raf Simons, who was on the jury for Blazy’s graduate collection and hired him instantly. After working with Simons he left to work for Maison Margiela, before moving to work under Phoebe Philo at Celine. In 2020 he became ready-to-wear design director of Bottega, before being appointed as creative director in November 2021, taking over from Daniel Lee, who left the Italian house to take the helm at Burberry.

Today’s news of Blazy’s departure is the latest episode in fashion’s tumultuous musical chairs, though rather than raising more questions, many are seeing this as an answer to a rather large, Chanel-shaped question, so stay tuned for more!