Breaking Down Fashion’s ‘Succession’ Shake-Up At Chanel

By Briana J.

In recent years, the fashion industry has been no stranger to its shakeups regarding senior leadership at established fashion houses. News of creative directors coming and going after a handful of seasons occurs every other week. Few announcements have been as earth-shattering as Virginia Viard’s departure from Chanel, a fashion house she’s been part of for 30 years. Since Karl Lagerfeld died in 2019, Viard has served as the Artistic Director of Chanel. The news of her bowing out shocked Viard’s team since the Business of Fashion reported that her team found out almost the same time as everyone else. The 62-year-old designer started as an intern and rose through the ranks to become a close collaborator of Karl Lagerfeld. With her departure, the biggest job in fashion is open for grabs and people have their opinions on who it should be.

Hedi Slimane:

One of the most prominent names floating around is Hedi Slimane, the current Creative Director of Celine. Once upon a time, Karl Lagerfeld proclaimed that he lost 90 pounds to fit into a Hedi Slimane-designed suit. The late designer was a big fan of Slimane and people have prophesized Slimane’s departure from Celine. With Virginie Viard stepping down, it almost felt obvious that Hedi Slimane would be the right choice due to his highly stylized image through the years. There was no escaping Slimane’s influence in fashion at one point and he has experience helming fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent (that he re-branded as Saint Laurent Paris), Christian Dior menswear line “Dior Homme.” and Celine. He was offered the top spot at Jil Sander after Saint Laurent but declined.

Jeremy Scott:

Another name mentioned as soon as the news dropped is Jeremy Scott, who recently left Moschino in 2023. Scott served as Moschino’s creative director for ten years and has Karl Lagerfeld’s seal of approval. Jeremy Scott still has his widely successful namesake brand and it’s clear that he is a fashion chameleon. There have been rumors of Jeremy Scott looking for homes in Paris where Chanel is headquartered. Savvy Twitter users cited Jeremy Scott’s Fall 2023 Moschino line where a series of tweed suits, a Chanel staple, hit the runway as a wink and nod. Chanel has an aura of seriousness but Karl Lagerfeld was also a big ideas guy. Jeremy Scott would have no issues fitting into the brand ethos.

Sarah Burton and Pierpaolo Piccioli:

These two are in similar positions. They both had successful runs at respected houses Alexander McQueen and Valentino respectively. They are both between jobs and flying solo at the moment. Sarah Burton has been at Alexander McQueen from 1997 to 2023, spending her last thirteen years as Creative Director. Notably, she is the only woman people online are seriously considering who isn’t as far-fetched as Phoebe Philo. Pierpaolo Piccioli was the Creative Director of Valentino from 2008 to 2024 and created major moments like the hot pink collection from 2022. Both designers have a strong celebrity roster and the pedigree to push Chanel into a new era.

Names in the mix that feel like more of a long shot:

John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, Phoebe Philo, Tom Ford, and Haider Ackermann. It’s important to note that the Chanel job isn’t the only big one in town since Givenchy and Dries Van Noten are also up for grabs. These names have been mentioned but due to location (Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford), possible unavailability due to working at another fashion house (Galliano is working at Maison Margiela), or a strong chance for employment at another house (Ackermann to Dries Van Noten), these names come off as wishful thinking. Phoebe Philo has recently launched her brand so taking the job at Chanel doesn’t seem likely. There have been other names in the mix by fashion devotees and if you listen to people talk long enough, they all seem like possibilities. This just shows how iconic Chanel is and anyone in that position will be etched in fashion history forever. People have their ideas on what the Artistic Director at Chanel should be but no matter the announcement, it is an appointment that will be watched and heavily discussed.