While we are busy trying to stay alive, people around the world continue with their normal routines. For example, standing in line for hours just to buy a Chanel item.
In recent months, the fashion house, led by creative director Matthieu Blazy, has become a global obsession. Social media is flooded with happy shoppers showing off items they worked hard to obtain, accompanied by hashtags like “Crazy Blazy” or phrases such as “I’ve Been Blazied.” Even those who do not own Chanel pieces have joined the conversation.
Hollywood stars, of course, are already on board. Creations by the luxury brand have appeared on the red carpet worn by Nicole Kidman, Selena Gomez and recent Oscar winners Jessie Buckley and Teyana Taylor, as well as pop stars like Rosalía and Olivia Dean. One online commentator has already dubbed the phenomenon a “mass psychosis.”
Why is this happening now?
Amid the recent, intense discourse about the collapse of totalitarian regimes, it is worth recalling that for 36 years the French fashion house founded by Coco Chanel in 1910 was led by creative director Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld excelled at producing spectacular runway shows and had a sharp eye for identifying rising “it girls” and pairing them with his brand. The clothes themselves, however, were, in my view, deathly dull and suited mainly for 80-year-old Parisian women.
After Lagerfeld’s death in 2019, he was succeeded by his longtime deputy, Virginie Viard, who largely continued along the same lines.
The shift began with the appointment of Blazy, 41, as creative director in late 2024.
The defining moment for the brand — and arguably for the fashion world — came with Blazy’s show last December in a New York subway station. The location alone was striking. What does an elite Parisian brand have to do with an abandoned subway platform? As it turns out, that was precisely the point: Blazy sought to bring Chanel down to street level.
The looks on the models were so fresh and conveyed such desirable urban cool that style enthusiasts were captivated. For weeks, my social media feed featured nothing but discussions of that show, to the point that I swore that if I saw one more model emerging from a subway car, I would delete Instagram from my phone. Since then, there has been a surge in demand for the collection, with mounting frenzy around accessories such as bags and shoes.
If you are wondering whether people really have nothing better to do than stand in line to buy an astronomically priced bag, the answer is, first, yes. Second, it is worth remembering that obsession is the lifeblood of the fashion industry.
Designers come and go, brands rise and fall, but one thing remains constant: the “I must have it.” I must have this bag. I have to have these shoes.
Without an obsession with beautiful items, we would be left only with the need to cover our bodies to avoid being naked — and that is far less fun. In any case, it is better to stand in line for Chanel than to be stuck in a safe room.