Virginie Viard Is Leaving Chanel

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Virginie Viard and Chanel are officially parting ways.

According to Vogue Business, Viard is leaving Chanel after 30 years at the brand. The designer’s tenure at the house includes the last five years as its artistic director, following Karl Lagerfeld’s death in February 2019. She was notably the house’s third creative director after Lagerfeld and Chanel herself.

Chanel’s Virginie Viard (IMaxTree)

“Chanel confirms the departure of Virginie Viard after a rich collaboration of five years as artistic director of fashion collections, during which she was able to renew the codes of the house while respecting the creative heritage of Chanel, and almost thirty years within the house,” Chanel said in a statement. “A new creative organisation will be announced in due course. Chanel would like to thank Virginie Viard for her remarkable contribution to Chanel’s fashion, creativity and vitality.”

Viard first joined Chanel in 1987 as a haute couture embroidery intern, according to Haute Living. Lagerfeld later poached her to work at Chloé during his tenure there, where she worked in costume design with actress Isabelle Yasmina Adjani. By 2000, Viard resumed her design career at Chanel—and has remained there ever since.

Stay tuned for more updates as this story develops.

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