Can Chanel Save Its Shattered Reputation? 

It is assumed that Virginie left Chanel because her hands were tied due to the decline in the quality of raw materials and products. Management is allegedly too focused on making profits. Quality is deteriorating, prices are rising...

You’re way behind. She left as she was done. Its not Chanel that booted her, and Virginie isn’t the reason the quality sucks. Do any of these lemmings that now rejoice online stop and think this might have been one of the things that Virginie was fed up with? It’s the corporate number crunchers. Alledgedly of course, and oh the grand dames also walked out with her. That’s 100s of years of experience out the door. Those ladies worked with Coco herself. Schiiiiit went down. Alledgedly

2 important points, IMHO, that should have been reflected in your commentary - Virginie LEFT Chanel with just 2 weeks to go before the upcoming Metier D’Art collection that she created. Something went terribly wrong for the head designer to walk out at such an impossible time. Remember, Virginie Viard worked hand in hand with Karl DESIGNING, she was not getting him his coffee. Karl thought so highly of her that she was his chosen successor. They were so close that she inherited 1/7 th of his fortune. She didn’t have to work all these years at all! It’s just a hunch but I think the Suits of the Chanel Corp (including Lena Naer) tried to rein her in - all in the name of increasing profits. Clearly she did something right if you look at the numbers & if you listen to them singing her praises in the same breath that they are delivering the news of yet another price increase. All that said, you were much more fair than most. I personally am really sick of the vitreal being spewed over the Internet in her name. Things are seldom so black & white.

The downfall of Chanel will be the cost cutting measures and bad quality products of the company under the CEO, not because of Virginie.

I disagree with the title of this video. The real reason for declining quality and rising prices = current CEO. I think the stockholders should fire the CEO bc she wants to change the work force with lower wage earners and continue to degrade quality suppliers. IMO

I don't get it. If she grew the company's sales and increased profits, how is that a downfall? It seems to me that customers are less interested in "innovative" than in wearable designs. What's more important, impressing W magazine or pleasing the customers?

You don't know what you are talking to, SHE LEFT , and the numbers with Virginie have been rising and improving throughout all her years, you have an opinion base on nothing , please inform yourself better .

Virginie is one of my favorite designers. I personally think she designed with Coco’s aesthetic in mind. Where Karl brought the house into the future; Virginie,in my opinion, honored the memory of Coco. I understand this is just my opinion I just think she was a welcome return of feminine style and elegance. Financially the brand did well under Virginie. The question I ask is Why a company did this to an artistic talent as Virginie? Also she worked under Karl for forty years; if she wasn’t ready or worthy of the position Karl would have said so. Again this is just an opinion of a simple person.

Chanel did no say “good bye”, Chanel said “part ways”, which means that the designer could also be the one who said good bye. Please be accurate, no one actually know the details of such news, it’s all speculations and rumors. Let’s try to accurate

Virginie’s designs were CHANEL. Things Gabrielle would’ve made. Lagerfeld make it fun but you wouldn’t catch a soul wearing any of that stuff. Cut the shit.

She left for a reason. The less said, the more apparent. I think she did a fabulous job.

Chanel was ruined before she got there😂😂😂

I think Slimane would be just abysmal for Chanel! His clothing design at Celine is just emblazoning the word Celine across everything in very large format, if that’s original and that’s what the masses want,I can understand why all I bought was a handbag. The Romy was really a beautiful bag, and I saw several other beautiful bags & 1 belt design. The sunglasses fantastic but in the clothing, which is the thing I am most interested. I left everything on the rack. It’s clear his design aesthetic is not to sell more clothing it’s selling bags, fragrance belts and sunglasses.

I am tired of all this Virginie hate. The woman was a workhorse and was not appreciated. Who else can design 10 collections a year and never complain. She quit because she was not on board with all the quality cutting that the new CEO wants. The new CEO is a problem and come from a packaged goods background. She has no luxury experience so cost cutting is the way for her ilk. The guy from Celine is out because he requires complete control which Leena will never give him. Word around the industry is that no one wants that job. Nicolas is out as he just renewed a 10 year deal with LVMH. It’s a shit job at this point. Also Lagerfield did not have to design with all the silliness that comes with social media and an ever changing trend and what’s next attitude which drives design and sales these days. At this point these house are just a step above fast fashion…they are using non natural fibers quite a lot and I refuse to pay top dollar for polyester and their synthetic cousins. So I am out and only buying vintage at this point. If Chanel goes with an established named we can be sure they will be going public and that will mos def be the end of Chanel luxury reign.

Please correct the title. Virginie is not responsible for the poor quality supply, she's dedicated to the design and she did a great job, in shadow of Gabrielle and Karl.

None of these designers can do sophisticated feminininity. Chanel is in the realm of Christian Lacroix, Lanvin. If only we still had Alber Elbaz

Why isn’t anyone talking about the worthiemer brothers who own Chanel? And why are they using cheaper materials? What good designer would want to put their reputation on the line without support for the best quality products?

Chanel fills a niche in fashion with a unique client base. Any major migration away from the core feel and look of Chanel may well backfire.

Personally, I prefer "safe" and "conservative", but I acknowledge that may not be commercially attractive, given the current Chanel customer preferences. I'd get one of the Lebanese designers, or even Elisabetta Franchi... which just shows how I roll 😂

I find it incredibly insulting how easy it is to criticise a designer that is at the helm of a brand. There’s a lot more than to being in this position that people like ourselves will never understand and relate. Get a reality check

We are so grateful and happy that Virginie Viard goes. The next to go should be Leena Nair - PLEASE !!! Thank you … Either Sarah Burton or Phoebe Philo would be EXCELLENT choices !!! Besides, Karl Lagerfeld designed for Chloé in 1970’s and 1980’s before Chanel in 1982; Phoebe Philo (not Stella McCartney) brought Chloé back to life in 1990’s; now it would be heartening that Phoebe Philo arrive at Chanel …

Lol you have no clue what you’re talking about , Chanel never wanted Virginie out , it was HER who quitted a company that doesn’t care anymore on quality , craftsmanship etc, she’s been with Chanel for over 30 years, so please do a better research before doing a crappy video

The problem I have is Chanel bags and ready to wear have gone up substantially in the last few years and the percentage we hear for growth is tracked in dollars not items sold. They aren’t selling more the price tag is just higher in fact they could be selling less.

screw u wannabes for blaming her cause shes the only name you know from the brand. virginie is the creative director her job is to design thats it. she doesn't make any of the decisions in the company. trying aiming for leena nair the ceo instead 🤮🤮

She most probably left on her own accord, I would say that Leena maybe had a different vision, as she has an uncreative HR background. Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs- give me a break!

The problem with Chanel is that they have forgotten what the house became famous for - elegant but comfortable clothes with a timeless edge. I know Karl Lagerfeld was a creative genius but he was a showman and not subtle! I would love to see another female designer in the post not infrequently certain male designers tend to focus on the artistic vision when at the drawing board and not necessarily on wearability!

Sad she was the closest things to Karl. Also her style was classic. But I believe the problem here is not her. I think is LEENA when she came to the company

it’s combination of her designs, boring fashion shows, leather items & accessories quality going the drain & rising prices. Leena Nair is going to make the matters worse

Her clothes were weak it was the fact

Virginie was the fall women stage by Karl. Karl never told the owner of chanel that virginie was weak in ready to wear since she felt comfortable in Haute Couture.. Haute Couture was useless in to the public and it did help to sell handbag, sunglass and perfume. Ready to wear was and is the key awareness in the public eyes. No worries for Virginie as she inherited millions from Karl legerfeld estate. AS for Chanel its hard to rebuild because the chanel logo is so overexposed. Their either change the logo or fall back to sleep.

Chanel’s overall profits have increased nicely during a global economic crisis. Congratulations! I am sure the company’s financial analysis did not waste a minute dissecting each division of the House of Chanel. Just a guess, but I bet the only reason there was a financial growth was due to all sales divisions, except ready to wear, runway orders and haute couture orders.

Sorry, but quality is king. It is not just Chanel. Fashion is dead! With very few exceptions, there is no innovation unless you consider " influencers" wearing see through, unattractive rags couture. You can either design for the bottom line and mass merchandise or design for timeless beauty and quality. If you have not done so already look at the designs of YSL in the 1970s for instance.

Chanel INCREASED all their pricing - Ready to Wear included! A simple tweed jacket is now over $8000 depending on the embellishments. The handbags and accessories all had major price increases as well. They also have changed the pay structure MULTIPLE times over this last year for their employees.. reducing the amount of money most were making.. sooooo yes of course they were up 16% this year but by what means.. not because the collections were all so amazing.

How many of the commenters actually shop regularly at Chanel and other designer brands? I can tell you their customer service and the quality of products has been improving. Some of the bags I've seen recently surprisingly felt VERY sturdy, even comparable to a Bottega Veneta handbag. I shop often enough and I can tell when quality is not up to par. Even a small collection of costume jewelry at Chanel is worth it IMO (small is the keyword), especially if you are going to spend that money on other designer costume jewelry or 20 dresses from Zara + some lipsticks + food delivery. Chanel still makes plenty of products that are very meh, for example the popular Chanel 22 or 19 bags, or polyester clothes. But, they launched Chanel & moi program that provides after-sales care for 5 years, the sales associates have been nicer. (Consider the fact that Dior went backwards from offering lifetime service/cleaning to 2-years after-sales care.) I recently got a full refund on a dress I purchased and they also exchanged a piece of jewelry for free without an argument within 2 days. Also I've got to give it to Chanel for their boldness and creative design in recent collections. Launching pink and glittery Barbie collection during the peak of so-called "quiet luxury era" when everyone else was putting boring black on the runway, was such a boss move. If you want to be sure of the quality of products at Chanel (or any other designer brands), look for leather lining in their handbags, feel the thickness of leather products you buy, look at stitching, look at the composition label (for Chanel, clothes made of tweed, cashmere or silk.) I don't know where and when and who have been complaining about Virginie Viard. She always believed in making clothes that were a little sexy, a little modest, and she made tweed cool again. Please go and watch the recent runways from Chanel and compare it to any other brand's, you'll see how iconic and distinct Chanel's designs are compared to everyone else. I'm not defending Chanel's price increase or rampant quality issues, still, but I've come to respect Chanel more recently and think we should give them a second chance.

People pay thousands and thousands for something grandeur and creativity, uniqueness and glamorous. If you want comfort, easy wear and normal, then you can buy it anywhere else. If something which cost 10 dollar and 1,000 dollar looks and feels pretty similar. Then we might as well buy the cheaper one. That is reality.

One word: G R E E D

I agree with the comments, she did great job. I personally preferred Karl Lagerfeld but she did great job as well. I personally don't see any of the mentioned designers for a simple reason you kept mentioning, they were all very minimalist. I believe John Galliano would be great choice. I definitely see the CEO focusing more on profit over heritage. Unfortunately people always care more about money.

Great video… you really know your stuff! I would love to see Sarah Burton at Chanel. Ascending the throne after the great McQueen, I felt she was under appreciated and her talents went largly under praised.

Did you mean to write ‘shattered’?

When the quality of Chanel is compared to Zara, the management of the brand is to blame

You are the best Virginie ❤

I think she is absolutely amazing. These last few collections felt like she is getting tired but look at the first 3 years, she killed it back to back with amazing collection that both honoring Coco and Karl - especially her MDA collections. Also if you into Chanel and understand its background and heritages, she us bringing Chanel back to its root and more wearable and for women without degrading the quality of the silhouettes. It’s more of the details in her clothes which Chanel has felt to show because they more focus on fast commercial (less than 30s ad clips, shorter fashion show duration film, less focus and zooming into the details of the clothes,…). The hate on her is absolutely unfair and ridiculous.

Chanel needs someone got the eyes, touches vision of fashion as well like the late Karl Lagerfeld. I find that Sarah Burton, Hedi Slimane and Tom Ford this 3-fashion designers is the best as they have their own magic touch on the brand that they are taking over.

Why shattered ? I thought she improved the sales figures at Chanel ...

Tbh, Chanel was NOT innovative. She was a great marketer and knows to hype things up (including claiming that she invented jersey) akin to today's social media influencers while in the other hand, Lagerfeld was (creative and innovative). That makes Viard more similar to Coco Chanel than Lagerfeld ever was. Chanel was a yawn until Karl moved to Chanel and revived the house. The execs at Chanel was wrong to go for someone who is more like Coco than Karl.

This is a high quality video. Not just people complaining and bashing but instead knowledgable and well researched. I think Pierpaolo will get the job. Hedi would be horrible. He repeats himself everywhere he goes and makes tacky clothes nowadays.

I hope they don’t hire any of the guys mentioned .

John Galliano

Karl Lagerfeld brought her from Chloé along with many of the top seamstresses. If anyone knows Chanel and thieir clients, it would would be her. All the cost cutting and crazy prices are on upper management not her.

What a shame Viard has left. She revitalised the brand. It was very Chanel but yes, relaxed. It felt young & relevant. A mistake.

What you meant was Chanel’s *shAttered* reputation.

She was welcomed because she worked closely with KL. Just like Sarah Burton who worked with the late Alexander McQueen and took over after his death, and was welcomed with open arms, Virginie was welcomed as well. The clothes she designed were weak and not Chanel.

Hedi Slimane ruined Saint Laurent and Celine, just nope

The CEO’s fault. Nair comes off as cheap. Virginie has been with the company for 40 years and worked with Karl Lagerfeld. Her track record is proven. This new CEO though.. she’s too foreign. No creative fashion background

Virginie was useless at designing. Absolutely laughable 😂😂😂

The problem the ceo is not French.

hmmmmmmmmmm THIS is very interesting! i think its a grey area, and people have their opinions on this subject, but only Virgine know the answer but i think if she were to speak out then i guess its going to break a clause? im not sure um some companies have employees sign a NDA? love the video!

Chanel will go extremely avant garde and no one will buy it except people who can wear high fashion. Small percent.

Karl lagerfeld is da best greatest legend fr chanel ❤

Pena que não vou comprar essas roupas nem tão cedo😢 quero emagrecer logo pra poder comprar😮

Know something before you speak on it

Everyone needs change .. Im excited to see someone else take the helm of such a historically prestigious fashion house. ❤

Bad quality despite the price increase.

Karl was an impossible act to follow... So sad to see this happen.

I thinking, it's time lel nev designers and brands to try, fashion stagnated already to long.

Trop effacee! La povre a recu son C4...!!! 😜...

Very interesting appraisal: very clickbatey headline

STOP pronouncing the word AESTHETIC as "AS-TET-TIK" The word is of Greek origin and is correctly pronounced with the TH sound as in Theatre or Theory. .

Ou eles me darem de presente né ou parceria quem sabe😂 é tudo mto caro nessas marcas e eu amo a shein então meu closet vai ter coisas de todos valores

Do you mean 'shattered'?

Jeremy Scott

I am glad to see Virginie go. Her colors and combinations, to me, were ugly and uninspired, a real mish mash. The silhouettes did nothing for a woman’s body. I am exited for the future. I think Marc Jacobs would be great. His use of color, the playfulness, his understanding of Chanel, all positives.

Tom Ford. Yes please.

Chanel is overpriced and overrated. Its quality is faltering and its prices are not reflective of the true quality of the brand. Like all luxury brands, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Balenciaga, etc., the only thing you are buying is the name. Nothing more.

Virginie has not an ounce of creative talent in her. Glad she’s out.

They are selling idiots cheap tat.

i’d love to see olivier rousteing lead chanel in its next era…

Chanel designs 💩

Your perspective is yours but you're wrong.

She is good, but lack of charm. Plus, the brand is way over-priced.

#BoycottChanel

I did not know that they even made high fashion clothes to be comfortable. It would had been nice to try some of her items. 🩷

High prices with poor quality!

Stop telling bs. She works for Chanel for more than 30 years

What are you talking about? She improved the sales. So, outside of some self styled critics, who all dress like complete cretins themselves, she has NOT disappointed the customers.

The CEO is a joke

Do a full research than trying to get viewers with your incomplete info. Oh well ignorance is a bliss 😂

I think currently the strongest female fashion designer is Chemena Kamali who is the designer at Chloe, at the moment. Her work for the most recent show this year was beautiful and women will want to buy her designs. Sarah Burton of AM designs have not really made a mark, not popular and quite forgettable. Phoebe Philo is too clean cut, no frills for Chanel and the fashion house's love for embellishments and lux appearance. I think a male designer for Chanel is best. If Nicholas Ghesquire goes over, he might be able to save Chanel.

I don't think any of these candidates are as daring and charismatic as Karl Lagerfeld. Karl was like the male version of Gabrielle Chanel in a way. He never put his career aside and acted overly emotional like other drug addicted celebrities. Maybe Alain and Gerard could prefer Jacquemus because he is someone who is not ashamed of his sexual orientation. Karl was like that too, he didn't say he was a womanizer like the other frauds to make his existence seem acceptable

They just raised prices, lowered quality, voila, there goes the increase in profits.

Chanel did Viginie dirty. Virginie is a victim here... not Chanel.

New customers came, but many old customers have left.

can't wait for Demna to be Chanels next designer qwq

Virginie was never a designer. I worked with her for two years, she is a very hard and determined woman.

your analysis is totally erroneous.

Ultimamente son pesimas las colecciones de Chanel.

I personally thought Virginie doesn’t necessary need to be replaced, she only needs a ghost stylists. Head seamstresses are the most important one and second is the element of a good taste and that’s what a creative director/designer’s job.