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 artisanal line and women’s ready-to-wear collections.

He is the creative director of Chanel. From 2021 to 2024, he was the creative director of Bottega Veneta.

Early life

Blazy was born in Paris to a French father and Belgian mother, and spent his youth between both countries. 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.

During high school, Blazy attended Pangbourne College for a year. He graduated from La Cambre fashion school in Brussels; his graduate collection was about Claudie Haigneré. He did his internships at Balenciaga and John Galliano.

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, at a time when the design team was anonymous, and where he experimented with advanced collage techniques. In July 2014, Vogue's Suzy Menkes 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 during the 2013 Yeezus tour.

In November 2014, Blazy joined Phoebe 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 under Raf Simons. He left Calvin Klein in 2019.

Bottega Veneta, 2020–2024

In 2020, Blazy became design director of ready-to-wear at Bottega Veneta. In November 2021, he was appointed creative director of Bottega Veneta. Blazy brought an inclusive management style ("egalitarian" according to Anne Collier), shrank the design team, and got the craftspeople involved in the creative process. He introduced the trompe-l'œil 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. In September 2023, the brand opened its flagship store in Paris on avenue Montaigne, 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 Chanel.

Personal life

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