Who succeeded Karl Lagerfeld as creative director of Chanel?

Virginie Viard succeeded Karl Lagerfeld as Chanel’s creative director in 2019.

Viard had worked closely with Lagerfeld at Chanel for more than three decades. She joined the house in 1987, later returned after a period at Chloé, and became director of Chanel’s fashion creation studio in 2000. In that role, she helped coordinate the brand’s ready-to-wear, haute couture, and accessories collections and was one of Lagerfeld’s closest collaborators.

After Lagerfeld died in February 2019, Chanel appointed Viard artistic director of its fashion collections. Her first solo Chanel show was the Resort 2020 collection, presented at Paris’s Grand Palais on May 3, 2019. Her approach generally preserved recognizable Chanel codes—tweed, tailored jackets, chains, and elaborate set pieces—while presenting them in a somewhat quieter way than Lagerfeld’s highly theatrical shows.

The question is historical rather than a claim about Chanel’s current director. Viard left Chanel in June 2024. Phoebe Philo, Nicolas Ghesquière, and Hedi Slimane were not Lagerfeld’s successors at Chanel; they are associated with other major fashion houses.