Boys Just Wanna Wear Chanel
Boys just wanna have fun. And boys just wanna wear Chanel, which is quite remarkable considering that it's the only top-tier fashion house that doesn't actually offer a dedicated menswear line... yet.
Since Bottega Veneta's Matthieu Blazy was appointed Chanel's new artistic director, the masculine urge to wear Chanel clothes, bags, and accessories has only increased.
So much so that one has to wonder: Are Timmy C, A$AP Rocky, and Jacob Elordi's recent Chanel moments mere pleas for or a subtle soft launch of Chanel Men's ahead of Blazy’s debut later this year? Almost certainly the former, right?
But there's still something in the water at Chanel. Just look at the luxury label's distinctly refreshed and, dare I say, impressively youthful pre-Fall/Winter 2025 collection, designed prior to April 1, Blazy's first day at Chanel.
Thus far, Chanel has only sporadically dabbled in menswear.
During the reign of Karl Lagerfeld, men's clothes would make rare appearances during Chanel’s Métiers d'Arts haute couture stagings, more often than not on Baptiste Giabiconi, top male model and close friend to the late artiste in charge.
Pharrell Williams' 2019 Chanel capsule kicked the proverbial doors in, with a landmark assortment of unisex pieces that at least resembled an attempt at commercial menswear, down to graphic hoodies and co-branded adidas sneakers.
Though it may look dated now, this was pioneering stuff.
But one-offs were long the most overt examples of Chanel menswear, meaning that it’s been up to fans to take matters into their own hands until the powers that be come around. Hey, it worked for Miu Miu.
Both before and after the aforementioned collaboration, Pharrell has famously worn both Chanel womenswear and jewelry, tweeds and pearls and interlocked Cs all over.
Since then, Future, Usher, Lil Yachty, and Kendrick Lamar all followed suit, one way or another. Hell, the latter even oversaw a show's entire creative direction, for crying out loud.
Mind you, all this occurred over the span of years. But recently, within a matter of just a few months, Drake, A$AP Nast, former Bottega darling A$AP Rocky, and even the famously unstylish Floyd Mayweather(!) bent Chanel to their wills.
Mostly, this has meant tapping into items as approachable as headpieces and sweats, a time-honored tradition of womenswear appropriation since the days of Dapper Dan. But men are now so Chanel-crazed that they're grabbing archival handbags and even slipping on Chanel jeans, in Lamar's case.
On more than one occasion these past weeks, for instance, Bleu de Chanel ambassador Timothée Chalamet could be seen cradling tiny Chanel crossbodies, swaddled in a monogrammed scarf to match. Insider-y cultural consultants concur.
Fueling the potentiality of pre-Blazy Chanel Homme hype, certified manbag enthusiast Jacob Elordi has been donning a variety of Intrecciatto and diamond-quilted purses ever since co-starring alongside fellow Aussie Margot Robbie in a Chanel N°5 campaign
Coincidence? Perhaps, but let a girl dream.
All the boys are already wearing Chanel, custom, cross-dressed, or co-opted. They clearly want in on the action.
And maybe Mathieu Blazy actually will answer their prayers.
