Chanel famously doesn’t make menswear — however within the teaser for its first Métiers d’Art present below artistic director Matthieu Blazy, it was a person, A$AP Rocky, who acquired the majority of the eye.
In the spot, directed by surrealist French filmmaker Michel Gondry, Rocky stars alongside actress (and longtime Chanel ambassador) Margaret Qualley, who commutes to work on the New York subway whereas Rocky sprints via the streets and even swims throughout the East River to shock her at her vacation spot with an engagement ring.
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It’s Rocky’s first official look as a home ambassador, which Chanel introduced on TikTookay on Sunday. While the teaser itself was additionally posted on Instagram, the ambassadorship announcement was not; the model’s alternative of social channel emphasises its shift in the direction of a brand new era of shoppers below Blazy.
Despite not formally having a males’s vogue line — although it does provide males’s perfume, skincare and eyewear — Chanel is seeking to faucet the facility of male figures like Rocky to proceed pushing its personal cultural relevance ahead. In the US particularly, Chanel’s partnerships with males have largely centered on skills who’re on the intersection of hip-hop and elegance, serving to the model transfer away from a picture of grande-dame stuffiness. Working with Harlem-born Rocky is especially related proper now — the Métiers d’Art present will probably be staged in New York on Tuesday.
“Chanel being such an old house, they have to be able to speak to that younger consumer,” mentioned stylist and costume designer June Ambrose. “Rocky has taken European fashion, couture and the idea of something that’s aspirational and incorporated it with something that’s very authentic to who he is.”
Chanel’s Ambassador Approach
The maison has labored with male ambassadors earlier than. French actor Gaspard Ulliel turned the primary official ambassador for its perfume for males, Bleu de Chanel when it launched in 2010, holding the position till his loss of life in 2022, with Timothée Chalamet taking the baton in 2023. Chanel has additionally featured actor Brad Pitt in adverts for Chanel No. 5, whereas Pharrell Williams has partnered with the model on a number of events, together with starring in and composing the soundtrack for its 2015 Métiers d’Art movie, co-designing a capsule in 2019 and starring in its 2020 eyewear marketing campaign. Rapper Kendrick Lamar was additionally introduced as an eyewear ambassador for the model this 12 months; Rocky, who turned artistic director for eyewear model Ray-Ban in February, is restricted to different classes at Chanel.
Historically, these partnerships had been extra centered on eyewear and sweetness, however the Rocky teaser — mixed with Blazy’s arrival — has stirred up dialog round Chanel doubtlessly making a menswear entry.
At the very least, the appointments — and their reception — are an indication of the common enchantment of lots of Chanel’s items. Take its buzzy collaboration with French shirtmaker Charvet: Though technically designed for ladies, they’re impressed by archival pictures of Gabrielle Chanel carrying her boyfriend’s Charvet shirts; Rocky seems to be carrying one within the teaser, too.
Prior collaborations have additionally showcased Chanel’s versatility. Okay-pop star G-Dragon, for example, has been a model ambassador for the reason that late 2010s, showing in campaigns for merchandise just like the Gabrielle purse. The unisex enchantment of Chanel additionally ties again the model’s connection to hip-hop, a style full of stars like Lil Nas X and Young Thug, who’re identified for his or her gender-bending type.
“It makes sense that [Chanel’s] male muses feel very confident in their masculinity, that they can interpret a very feminine silhouette in a very masculine way, in a very authentic way,” mentioned Ambrose.
Not solely is Rocky a part of the home’s longer-term technique surrounding male partnerships, nevertheless it’s additionally a bridge to Blazy’s personal artistic previous: He labored with Rocky throughout his tenure at Bottega Veneta, placing him on the forefront of a paparazzi-style marketing campaign for the model in 2023. He additionally labored with actress Ayo Edebiri, the primary star to be named a Chanel ambassador after Blazy’s appointment, whereas at Bottega. He’s connecting with the model’s previous, too: Soon after naming Edebiri, Chanel additionally introduced the return of Nicole Kidman, longtime face of Chanel No. 5. Qualley’s look within the Métiers d’Art teaser is one other follow-on to her relationship with the model below Virginie Viard.
While Chanel is drip-feeding ambassador bulletins to audiences, its historic competitor Dior, however, launched a crop of latest artistic director Jonathan Anderson’s model faces in fast succession — together with Greta Lee, who adopted him from his time at Loewe.
When it involves celeb companions, Chanel has earned just a few coups towards Dior thus far: A$AP Rocky, for one, is the associate of Rihanna, who turned the face of Dior’s J’Adore perfume in 2024. To boot, Edebiri was one in every of Anderson’s darlings whereas at Loewe.
The viral teaser is yet another step for the maison in its battle to win the hearts of contemporary shoppers as they await the following iteration of Blazy’s Chanel following his knockout debut present in October.
“More and more, it’s gotten out of this perspective that this is a brand for ladies who lunch,” mentioned Aria Hughes, editor-in-chief of media platform Complex. The objective, she added, is to get younger shoppers to really feel that “this is luxury that I want to be aligned with.”