Matthieu Blazy has been appointed the new creative director of Italian luxury house, Bottega Veneta, with immediate effect. The news comes days after Daniel Lee announced his shock departure from the house, having steered the brand through something of a cultural renaissance, and just three weeks after the brand’s musically influenced SS22 show in Detroit.

Born in Paris in 1984, Blazy’s prolific career as a designer began at Raf Simons, before transitioning to Maison Margiela where he was tasked with designing the ‘Artisanal’ line and heading up the Women’s RTW show. A graduate of La Cambre in Brussels – whose alumni includes that of Louis Vuitton’s Anthony Vaccarello and Marine Serre – Blazy would meet Lee in 2014 when he joined Céline as a senior designer, before reuniting with Raf Simons during his Calvin Klein tenure from 2016 to 2019. 

“Matthieu Blazy is an extraordinarily talented individual, whom I am proud and excited to entrust with the creative helm of our luxury House,” says the brand’s CEO, Leo Rongone. “Bottega Veneta has always been equated with signature craftsmanship and distinctive creativity. Matthieu’s appointment will further enhance the modern relevance of our brand and accelerate our growth, while preserving the values that are at the core of Bottega Veneta.”

Joining the Bottega Veneta team last year as RTW design director, the French national now proudly holds the future of the burgeoning Kering brand in his hands, presiding over both the house’s men’s and women’s ‘Salon’ lines. As for what’s next? We’ll just have to wait until his first show – in February 2022.