The fashion merry-go-round can often be confusing. As we've noted before, announcements of creative directors tend to come in batches and can leave the casual observer scratching their head.
Thus week's round of musical chairs is just the latest in the ever-moving fashion world. Chanel has named Matthieu Blazy – who was most recently the creative director of luxury Italian label Bottega Veneta – as its new artistic director of fashion activities. Louise Trotter, meanwhile, will succeed Blazy at Bottega Veneta creative director.
There have been plenty of other big moves this year. In October this year Kim Jones stepped away from his role at Fendi and Hedi Slimane quit Celine. Dries Van Noten left his namesake brand in June, and just days ago John Galliano announced that he was leaving Maison Margiela after a decade.
While such departures cause tidal waves, they also free up space for talented designers and open coveted roles for the next round of opportunity, sparking a new era of creativity and energy.
Matthieu Blazy at Chanel
Blazy's ideas will be revealed by the French house in October 2025 during Paris Fashion Week, where he will oversee haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessories. His appointment makes him only the fourth person to head fashion's second largest house, following in the steps of Virginie Viard, Karl Lagerfeld and the founder Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel herself.
The rumours of who would take over at what is arguably one of fashion's greatest prizes have been swirling since June, when then-creative director Viard stepped down after five years, with the likes of Hedi Slimane, Simon Porte Jacquemus, Marc Jacobs and Blazy all linked to the role.
Blazy was considered a front-runner thanks to his work at Bottega Veneta, where he has spent the past three years artfully doubling down on its heritage and Italian know-how.
He has reinvented mundane items to seismic effect, transforming the simple vest, a checked shirt and sweat pants into exquisite must-haves fashioned from woven leather, while elevating humble denim into an artisanal item.
Since taking over in late 2021, following the abrupt departure of Daniel Lee (who now heads Burberry) Blazy has worked with a light, subtle touch. Aged just 40, he is well-versed in pop culture, bringing the likes of actor Jacob Elordi and rapper A$AP Rocky on board, sparking multiple social media moments, despite Bottega having no social media presence, which is quite a feat.
This is undoubtedly some of the magic Chanel will be looking to capitalise on. Like many brands, Chanel is feeling the effect of the downshift in luxury spending, as financial belts are tightened.
Blazy's proven record of nailing both men's and women's wardrobes, signals that the house might be eyeing a possible extension into menswear. A women's maison, Chanel may have created one-off men's collection in the past, but has no permanent offering other than watches.
Blazy's departure from Bottega Veneta has triggered another move, with Carven creative director Trotter taking over where Blazy left off.
Louise Trotter at Bottega Venta
Staying true to Bottega's tendency towards more obscure hires, they have sought out Trotter. She has been creative director at the French company Carven for two years and helped steer the brand back into relevance. Previously she was at Lacoste and Joseph, where she brought a more fashion-forward attitude.
Now tasked with bringing her voice to the Italian house, she is the only woman leading a brand owned by Kering, which also controls Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga. Bottega Veneta chief executive Leo Rongone announced her arrival by saying that “her aesthetic seamlessly combines exquisite design with sublime craft and her commitment to cultural advocacy aligns beautifully with our brand vision. Through her sophisticated lens, Bottega Veneta will continue to celebrate its heritage while preserving modern relevance.”
Will Trotter be able to handle the house of Bottega with her relative inexperience? We will have to wait and see, but the new era will be fascinating.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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