Virginie Viard Departs Chanel After Five Resplendent Years

Virginie Viard, who succeeded Karl Lagerfeld as Chanel's artistic director, is departing from the luxury fashion house. Chanel has not yet named a replacement for Viard, who has led the creative direction for five years. Under her leadership, Chanel saw significant growth, including a 14.6% increase in sales last year.

Virginie Viard, the artistic director who succeeded Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel posthumously, is leaving the French luxury fashion house.

While no immediate replacement for the 62-year-old Viard has been announced, Chanel confirmed her departure after a fruitful five-year tenure. Viard, who collaborated with Lagerfeld for over two decades before assuming his role in 2019, revitalized Chanel's design codes while honoring its creative legacy.

Although Viard never held an official title as a designer prior to her current role, she was instrumental across all of Chanel's design sectors, including couture. Under her direction, Chanel experienced a 14.6 percent growth last year, reaching USD 19.7 billion in sales.

Chanel will continue with its planned presentation of the haute couture fall and winter collection on June 25 at the Opera Garnier in Paris. The fashion house expressed confidence in its team's ability to maintain collection continuity during this transition and announced that a new creative organization will be revealed soon.