Virginie Viard is leaving Chanel after five years as creative director, leaving behind a significant legacy and substantial sales increases.
After half a decade as Chanel‘s creative director, Virginie Viard is stepping down from the brand. The French luxury fashion house has confirmed the news to Business of Fashion and announced that a new creative direction will be communicated “in due course.” Chanel issued an email statement on Wednesday evening, which read:
“Chanel confirms the departure of Virginie Viard after a rich collaboration of five years as Artistic Director of fashion collections, during which she was able to renew the House’s codes while respecting Chanel’s creative heritage, and nearly thirty years within the House.”
Prior to her role as creative director, Viard worked alongside Karl Lagerfeld for many years. As his longtime right-hand woman, she joined the house in 1987 and took on the creative direction following the death of the German designer in 2019. During her tenure, Chanel reported historic sales increases, reaching revenues of $19.7 billion USD in 2023, an increase of over 75% from 2018. The house also reported that ready-to-wear sales expanded by a factor of 2.5 compared to 2018. Viard continued Lagerfeld’s legacy by subtly adapting the iconic tweed jacket. However, it seems it wasn’t enough, as Chanel has faced online criticism regarding the relationship between quality and price.
