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.[1]
Blazy was born in Paris to a French father and Belgian mother, and spent his youth between both countries.[4] His father was an art expert and his mother a historian and researcher.[5] He has an older brother who is an airplane pilot and a twin sister who works in Singapore.[6]
Raf Simons was a member of the jury of Blazy's graduate collection, which was inspired by astronaut Claudie Haigneré,[8] and hired him on the spot.[5] Blazy brought bolder geometrical patterns to Simons' collections.[9]
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.[10] 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."[11][12] He then designed the Ye encrusted mask worn by Kanye West during the 2013 Yeezus tour.[13]
In November 2014, Blazy joined Phoebe Philo's team as senior designer of Celine working on pre-collections.[7][14] In August 2016, he was appointed design director of women's ready-to-wear of Calvin Klein under Raf Simons.[15] He left Calvin Klein in 2019.[16]
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.[2] Blazy brought an inclusive management style ("egalitarian" according to Anne Collier[9]), shrank the design team, and got the craftspeople involved in the creative process.[17] He introduced the trompe-l'œil denim leather pants (2021),[18] the intrecciato-woven handbags Kalimero (2022)[19] and Andiamo (2023),[20] and the knitted leather sock-slippers (2023).[21] He was dubbed the "Magician of Milan" by Vanessa Friedman.[17] In September 2023, the brand opened its flagship store in Paris on avenue Montaigne, the first designed by Blazy.[22] As part of his duties, he designed the costumes of the Venice Dance Biennale.[23]
In December 2024, Bottega Veneta announced Blazy's departure from the brand.[3]
Chanel
In December 2024, Blazy was named creative director of Chanel.[24]
Personal life
Blazy was in a relationship with fellow fashion designer Pieter Mulier until 2023.[6]
