Leena Nair and Matthieu Blazy on Creativity and the Power of the Human Hand

Leena Nair and Matthieu Blazy on Creativity and the Power of the Human Hand

From The Business of Fashion Podcast by The Business of Fashion

May 22, 2026 · 51 min

About this episode

Leena Nair and Matthieu Blazy discuss the creative dynamics at Chanel and the importance of craftsmanship in fashion.

This week, Chanel reported its annual results for 2025. Revenue rose 2 percent to $19.3 billion, defying a luxury downturn.  But the number that caught the industry's attention wasn't the top line — it was the acceleration. In the second half, Chanel's sales grew by high single digits across every category and region, before designs by new artistic director Matthieu Blazy had arrived in stores. The excitement alone changed the trajectory. The momentum has two sources. One is Blazy, whose runway debut last October sparked "Blazymania" — hour-long queues when his first collection landed this spring, instant sell-outs, and a level of excitement Chanel hasn't seen in years. The other is chief executive officer Leena Nair, who has invested heavily in Chanel's retail network, manufacturing and people, building the foundations that helped a creative spark catch fire. All of which sent me back to BoF VOICES in November 2023, when Nair and Blazy appeared on our stage at Soho Farmhouse on successive days, in separate conversations. They weren't there together. Blazy was still leading Bottega Veneta, while Nair was two years into her tenure at Chanel. Listening back now, what strikes…

People in this episode

Host: Tim Blanks

Guests: Leena Nair, Matthieu Blazy

Topics covered

  • luxury fashion
  • creativity
  • retail strategy
  • artistic direction
  • human craftsmanship

Keywords

  • Chanel
  • Matthieu Blazy
  • Leena Nair
  • luxury fashion
  • retail growth
  • craftsmanship
  • BoF VOICES

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Unilever

Places: Soho Farmhouse

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