Inside the “Chanel frenzy” taking over Hollywood

0:08This episode of Stylish is brought to you by Volvo Cars. Meet the Volvo EX40. Versatile, spacious and thoughtfully designed. It's built for lives that don't hit pause. This is Stylish, the podcast for all things fashion, lifestyle, brand and beauty. My name is Madison Sullivan-Thaw. My co-hosts today are Joanna Fleming and our Annika Joshi-Smith is still on this Monday pregnant and we are joined by her lovely maternity leave cover, none other than your Friday, well my Friday co-host actually, Rhiannon Joyce. Hello, hello. We're hoping by the time this episode drops that Annika will have also dropped her baby.

0:47Well, birthed the baby, not dropped her. Sorry. Sounds like she's dropping an album. She kind of is. I mean, iconic enough. Speaking of iconic, I don't know if anyone else has been living on the internet today, but I've been chronically online on dual screen because it's been Oscars Day, which is my personal favourite red carpet day of the year. And there were some looks. Serving. Lots of serving. Favorites? Oh, I'm going to start with the men. Okay. I was a big fan of the boys. Michael B. Jordan, congratulations, first and foremost, from Stylish Podcast. We congratulate you on your Academy Award.

1:24But also wearing custom Louis Vuitton looking so good. So dapper. So dapper. I mean, how could he not? I know. I mean, not to get straight into it, but he is very, very attractive. Oh, bet you did. You got straight in there. Well, I know we're talking about Chanel, so it feels cheating, but I think Chanel had a field day. And Nicole Kidman is my personal Roman Empire right now because that is just, I imagine her personal life feels very tumultuous right now, but she is like a phoenix rising from the ashes for me. She looked ethereal in this beautiful, feathered, like incredibly intricate bodice.

2:02It was embellished. Like she just looked unbelievable. And then she served again at the after party. Tiana Taylor also looked absolutely magnificent again in Chanel. And Jessie Buckley was also in Chanel. She won Best Actress and it was actually inspired by, I saw on Up Next Designer, the Instagram account, which I highly recommend you follow. Not that that's what we're getting to that later, but it was inspired by Grace Kelly's 1956 Oscars dress. And it was beautiful red silk and pink like chiffon. It just, she looked absolutely incredible. So many feathers. Jessica Alba's after party look as well, like feathers kind of through the bottom of her dress stunning my favorite was rose burn oh stand up very classic yes she was in dior but i wanted to actually call out her glam so hung bango did her glam and she just looked phenomenal the red lip with that outfit i feel like it just really her glam just tied that whole look together and it's such an important part of the entire look that a lot of people don't acknowledge do you know what my roman empire is at the moment the fact that rose burn is in a Domain ad and also was nominated for an Academy Award.

3:11Like what? What do you mean? Domain would be like. Have you seen this ad? They've hit the jackpot. They are fist pumping in their office right now. And they're quite funny. They're good ads. Also, Audrey Nuna was wearing Tom Brown and was styled by British-born celebrity stylist Daniel Brown. I loved this look. And also, I don't know if you know who this is, but she was one of the trio who performed Golden, the K-pop Demon Hunters. Oh, yeah. And one of my favourite movies. And famously, I ran into the G at the end of the marathon to Golden. That song. So personal affinity. Personal affinity. And she really lent into the Golden theme.

3:47It was like beautiful gold and black, like absolutely gorgeous. Yeah. There was so much embellishment. But also I want to shout out Armani. So Armani dressed Gwyneth Paltrow. And they also did Hayley Bieber's Vanity Fair after party look. and I think this is one of the best looks I've ever seen from Hayley Bieber. It was like this sequin leopard print. It was absolutely sensational. There's also a great video of her chasing after Kendall Jenner and she's just like running in heels but like there's no split on the back of the dress so it's just so real. You know like the micro step run, you know like running for the Uber after a wedding.

4:23I was thinking running outside of the club where you're trying to get an Uber. Sure, we went different places. Running nonetheless. I also loved Emma Stone in Louis Vuitton. It was very like shimmery, you know, simple silhouette with little cap sleeve. It just caught the light so beautifully when she was being photographed as well. Oh, there's just a long list of favourites, I think, from this. A lot of people just absolutely served. Yeah. And it was really nice just to see so much differentiation. Like we saw pastels, we saw sequins, we saw embellishment, we saw feathers, but all done very differently.

4:55Like, I mean, if you compare like Demi Moore to how, you know, Nicole Kidman was looking or Tiana Taylor, They were all very different expressions or exaggerations of those kind of embellishments and feathers. The only person who I didn't feel did that was Kylie Jenner. I did feel it was really similar to looks that she's had in the past. She looked absolutely incredible. She's an absolute bombshell. But it wasn't very fresh for me. It felt like a look that you've seen her in a few times. Actually, she has worn that before. Oh. Yeah, it's Schiaparelli, the one with the keyhole in it. Yeah. And I think she posted something about like how she loved that dress the first time she She wore it in like a champagne-y colour and she wore it in red this time.

5:32So, yes, you have seen it on her before. She just knows what looks good on her. She's like, you know what, I'm going to rock that again. And it did look really good on her. Part of me respects that she just knows what looks good on her and the other part of me is like I'd love to see her in like the Chanel feathers. Yeah, I agree. I can't help but speculate that it's like an intentional thing that she kind of just does her similar formula so the attention is not taken away. She's just there to support him. She'll always get attention because she's Kylie Jenner. She did look amazing though. Yeah.

6:01I love a brunette in red, as we've spoken about many times in this podcast. All right. Well, today we're going to be discussing Chanel's interesting rollout of their latest collection and the frenzy that it sparked in Paris. And we're discussing the lawsuit between Estee Lauder and Jo Malone. But first, what are we swapping in this week? Rihanna and Joyce, you are sitting in Annika Joshi Smith's seat today. So do you want to start us off? I do. I feel honoured. So my recommendation is the Substack. It is totally recommend and the fashion newsletter playbook. So it dropped last week. Technically a double wreck because it is in relation to the New York Times magazine article that listed the salaries of various people living in New York.

6:40Did you guys see this? I did see this. No. I'm so nosy. I clicked straight in and had to read it. And one person's job in particular gained a lot of attention and a lot of chatter. The Substack that was included, she allegedly earned 275 ,000 USD, which is 392 ,845 ,000 Australian. People had a lot of reactions to this. People were shocked that she was able to make that much money off Substack. And she disclosed that she'd made that money through Substack and also through affiliate links. And then what I really liked about this Substack, I know it's a little better, bear with me, is that it explains the process of affiliates and how people are actually making money off Substack.

7:23And if you're someone who doesn't really understand that and is interested in it because you're nosy like me, I definitely recommend rating it. You two did an episode on affiliates as well, didn't you? We did. Our fortnightly Friday episode, Big Deep Dive. Was that a plug? Just for people to go and listen to that too? Maybe. I didn't know that was a plug. I feel like I've heard this film before. I actually didn't mean for it to be a plug, but yes, Jo, we did. It's honestly, I'm just too nosy and I love industry insiders and the fact that everyone's trying to work out who it is. It's good. Yeah.

7:52I think pay transparency is always interesting as well because it's always been such a secretive topic. Yeah, exactly. Mads, once again, I've come with something and I would like to share something else. It's a TikTok account that's been bringing me a lot of joy at the moment. It is called H-A-U-X and it is a guy that is chronologically sharing every day that his girlfriend is learning to DJ. And I am here for this rollercoaster ride. It is so much fun. She is dropping some absolute bangers. Few things where there's room for improvement as well, but I love watching the ride. It'll be like, you.

8:25No, I'm not going to sing again. So what are her go-to tracks? No, there is no formula. That is what I love. Every day is like having a kinder surprise and not knowing what you'll get inside. I love that. Oh. It's so great. We don't see her face. It's just the back of her head and her DJing and his reaction. And this podcast is about fashion, brand, lifestyle and beauty and that feels like a lifestyle one. Definitely. I'll allow it. Thank you. You bring cleaning. I'll bring the DJs. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that she is a DJ and they're going to do a big reveal at the end. Oh. Sorry.

9:00You've let her down. You should see her face. You just sucked a bit of joy out of it. Sorry, sorry. Move on, move on. Now I'm like, no, no, I want to believe it's organic. No, it is. It is. Sorry, I crushed you. It's your dream. Jo, what's your reg? Mine is actually something that I stole from Annika. So in her absence, I thought that I would just give her credit where credit is due. She came in here one day and she had a French pedicure and I said to her, that looks really hot. And I'm into that. And I was just, I was seeing the whole look come together and I was like, yes, I'm very into that at the moment.

9:33and I think it's the 90s revival and something about that. I've been on the French petty ever since. I will admit, I know you two are looking at my feet right now. I can see you looking. Taking a little peep. They're looking nice. I can see you looking. I did go a little bit wrong with my base colour yesterday. I had them redone and it's a little bit too cool. So I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board and select another base colour next time. But, you know, we live and we learn. Is a base colour like a bubble bath with like a little tip? Like what's the goal? Well, it's shellac, so I don't know.

10:02Okay. They just have numbers on them. So every time I go, because I've got such a bad memory, I forget the number that I got last time. You need to take a photo. I know. I should. I just forget to do that every single time. So it's always a process of trial and error. But I'm just loving the like, just like the skinny French, you know, just that little tiny line at the top. Like a little slither. They look good. Yeah, you can barely see it. But I think when you've got your dogs out in summer and you're constantly wearing open-toe shoes, it just adds a little bit of drama. All three of us have our dogs out.

10:32Yeah. Jenks you on your soda and since I'm referencing Annika and something that inspired me I thought I'd actually throw in one of her swaps because she's come pre-prepared and she's recorded one for us so here's hers of course she has so this week I am swapping in a free resource which I think is going to be so beneficial to new parents or upcoming parents honestly it is so overwhelming trying to pack your hospital bag and even all the little things for like postpartum care and just what I'm going to need and the memo has the most incredible the list section on their website which I am literally obsessed with.

11:09They tell you everything you need. They tell you how many onesies you need. They tell you all the little bits and bobs that are going to get baby through and yourself through to that next phase or the fourth trimester and I'm ready to go with my hospital bag. Oh, we miss you, Annika. Next, we're talking about the Chanel frenzy that's been building up over the last five months. That's right after a word from today's sponsor.

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12:44Here's why it's working. A bit of background on this story. So last week, branding expert Camille Moore shared an Instagram post about the rollout of Chanel's latest collection. This collection, the brand's first under the new creative director Mathieu Blasier, debuted five months ago in October 2025. It was widely considered a resounding success. I know we saw this absolutely everywhere. We also spoke about it at the time with rave reviews from editors, critics and fashion insiders. So in her post, Camille said they turned a creative director debut into a commercial event by doing something most companies get wrong.

13:16They made the customer wait. Five months between the runway and the retail drop. The waiting is already built into Chanel's model, but what made this different was how they use this window. So instead of opting for a see now, buy now model, which some high-end brands have adopted in recent years, they actually stuck to a model that's more traditional to the world of high fashion, which is making the customer wait to purchase. The difference is the way they've used that time to their advantage. So Camille continued. They did not let attention plateau. They layered touch points made to a dar in a decommissioned subway station.

13:47A campaign shot at Coco's Villa, Couture Grand Palais, ambassador announcements rolled out in sequence, each one built on the loss. By the time the doors opened, the customer had been primed for five months. So the collection was finally available to buy on March 5th, and that was smack bang in the middle of Paris Fashion Week. I feel everyone was talking about it and how hard it was to actually get items. A Vogue Business article described what unfolded at Paris Fashion Week last week as the Chanel frenzy and fashion influencer Brian Boye, who Vogue Business spoke to for the piece said, I don't think Chanel forecasted the consumer response to Matu's superb show.

14:24It was quite a challenge to buy things that one wants because of the limited availability of many items. Whether it was a deliberate decision by Chanel or not, one thing is for certain, the collection was a success. So my first question to you guys, what do you think of Chanel's tactic to build up that hype across the five months? Do you think it was effective? Well, as Camille said in her wrap up, this isn't new to Chanel. That's pretty standard to do that. But it's the way that they had all of these touch points that I think made the difference here. And we've built up this like, you know, momentum and also kind of like scarcity as well.

15:02It's like this is going to be kind of really hard to get. So it's going to be really exclusive when it does come out. And I think that's really worked in their favour in this case. And it's getting a lot of good press, the actual collection itself. I don't think it's just about people wanting something that they couldn't have. They're actually really loving his Chanel. I mean, the way that he's pulled from the archives has been sensational. And I've seen so much online where there's clear references, but he's been able to spin it in a new and modern way. So I love that he's come into the house, still acknowledge the heritage, both in design, but also with the faces that have been brought back.

15:35Like we spoke about it a couple of episodes ago, Nicole Kidman being back, fresh faces like Margot Robbie, who we've previously seen at Chanel. she copped a lot of flack for you know all the memes about someone at Chanel hating her but now is like I mean arguably like the it girl for them I just think they've had like a stellar runway and I've loved how they've breadcrumbed via celebrity like I have no doubt celebrities want this as much as the people who Vogue Business are you know talking about wrapped around the block but like Harry Styles in like the leopard sequined jacket that had been worn in the subway runway show like he wore that to the SNL after party the other night we had Margot Robbie and Chanel in the Wuthering Heights press tour we had Jacob Elordi in the incredible Gingham crossover jacket that like my body will never get to wear but my heart will always yearn for I just think they did such good job because you still couldn't buy it but we're just seeing it and finding new ways to love it on you know people that we admire and even Tiana Taylor the night before the Oscars had a piece on from the collection a week before that had just shown.

16:38I was like, I love that we're seeing it immediately in the celebrity world, which I think is just building more hype and anticipation. Yeah. I think every celebrity wants to be wearing Chanel right now. I completely agree with you. Interestingly, that event that you referenced was actually hosted by Charles Finch and Chanel and it's their annual pre-Oscar party and the guest list was dazzling. There were so many main faces there. One thing that I think is really interesting about the scarcity piece is there are a few brands that have done this in the past. I mean, Hermes being one of the best in the business.

17:10And then obviously in a completely different category, but Supreme are known for doing that as well. A lot of the podcasts that I listened to most recently, one of them being Lauren Sherman's Fashion People. So Lauren Sherman was interviewing one of my favorite people, Derek Blazberg, and they were talking about how everyone was trying to get Chanel and were trying to hit up their sales associates. So yeah, even fashion people are trying to get their hands on it, whereas usually it's the very important customers or the celebrities. It's also like it's got to be a magical mix, right? Like this collection is incredible.

17:42The celebrity endorsement is unrivaled right now. The runway of activity has been like, do you know what I mean? All those pieces have to click. There has to be the right ambassadors, has to be a great collection. People have to respond to it. Like this isn't like, oh, it was a good collection and then it kind of just did its best. Like, yes, we can say it's Matthew, but there's also clearly a very good team behind this at Chanel rolling this out. Yeah, I agree with that. I really liked this quote from fashion creator and commentator Jay Tibbetts on the Chanel hype right now. He said in a reel, Blasi's Chanel doesn't look like a costume but made for real women in all their variety while also maintaining the house's core signature and sense of status, which you just referenced before, Mads.

18:22And I think that's a really good way to wrap that up of why that hype is what it is right now. And he was saying that he was in Paris and people were basically like knocking down the doors. It was like people were scurrying, seeing sales associates scurrying around the store trying to assist customers. Yeah. So there is clearly a lot of hype, especially in Paris right now. And we have to acknowledge that we are talking top end. Like it has been very widely spoken about the steep increases in prices at Chanel. They have had significant price rises in sort of their key mainstayers, like, you know, the Chanel classic flap and whatnot.

18:56but we're talking about like 10,$12 ,000 handbags and like two and a half thousand shoes. We're not talking like, oh, there's a new drop at Uniqlo. Like this is not the response we usually see for a big luxury fashion house. And I think the reason that we talk about things like this is also because it very much influences what lands on the high street and what brands we will be shopping because I'm going to be honest, I'm not going into a Chanel boutique to purchase some of these items, but I can appreciate them and I can appreciate how they affect fashion as a whole. I think you can appreciate the strategy.

19:29Like there's clearly to Mads' point, a lot of strategy that's gone into this. Given the recency bias that's playing in my mind, I do want to talk about the pre-Oscars party that I mentioned before, because the man who hosted this, Charles Finch, who is a businessman and film producer, also owns a publication called A Rabbit's Foot. I am subscribed to them on Substack. And this piece that talked about the party and obviously showcase saw the celebrities there was amazing. But what I found really interesting was they went really deep on how much Chanel is also influencing Hollywood and culture, not just celebrity.

19:59And I want to read you this quote. Chanel's influence in film now extends far beyond red carpet dressing, with the house actively collaborating across Hollywood through cinematic fragrance campaigns directed by filmmakers like Luca Guadagnino, Ridley Scott and Baz Luhrmann. Partnerships with major productions such as Barbie and Nouvelle Vague and even supporting film productions itself, including the Oscar nominated animated feature Arco, positioning Chanel as a culture investor and creative collaborator within the film industry, not just a fashion house dressing it starts. I feel that wholeheartedly with what I see them roll out on socials, but also how they show up in culture.

20:34What do you guys think? Yeah, I completely agree. I think they've done a really great job at remaining really relevant. And that's really hard to do to keep that mystique and allure. And they are a top shelf luxury brand. and if they're everywhere, that's a hard balance. But if they're nowhere, that's a hard balance too. So I think they've done a really great job at partnering with the right production partners, the right celebrities. Like I think they're probably the most thoughtful house in terms of partnerships. One thing I'm really curious about is what the numbers will be and we won't know until 2027 in terms of how this actually performed revenue-wise.

21:11The scarcity thing is interesting because obviously it creates this supply, demand and this hype. but until we know the actual units and how much revenue was generated from this it's difficult to know if it was actually a true success and I think they've been very tight-lipped on that for a reason because if the numbers get out it also can impact the influence the reality kicks in the reality kicks in it's like oh they only ran a limited run of this and it's like created that scarcity and that idea that I have to have it because it's sold out but how many units were actually made yeah I mean the Hermes playbook go listen to the acquired episode one of my favorites of all time but I'm really intrigued to watch this.

21:46I think there'll be a lot of high street inspiration. For me I feel like we're going to see a lot of like fringing and probably a lot of that turquoise colour that features quite heavily in their footwear and bags. The croc leather was everywhere as well. Do you know what I love about that bag? That's actually influenced by one of their vintage bags. So when I was having a little look on vestiaire there's actually a lot of the vintage bags that are for sale that look very similar. So I kind of love that it potentially has a resurgence for the vintage market as well at Chanel. Can we talk about the autumn winter show in Paris?

22:18Because I wanted to call out a little thing that I noticed. I watched the entire thing. I was having a really good look at it. And something that I picked up, there was no size diversity, which is not uncommon in this industry, but there was age diversity. They had three models walking in their show, Stephanie Cavalli, Laura Ponty and Christina Chung. They all walked in the show and they're all in their 50s. and I was then digging into this because it started to interest me a lot with these luxury fashion houses and how they go about representation in their brands and I saw an article by Hayley LeSavage for Marie Claire and she said it's a sign that luxury players understand the enduring nature of style and the growth of their customer base when it's time for these highly anticipated it pieces to land on shelves guess who's established enough in their career or even comfortably into retirement to actually shop these five-figure pieces in the Paris stores which is such a good point.

23:09Such a great call out. Jo, you also made this point a few episodes. I was on that episode when you spoke about this in terms of not being a consumer of Chanel and them wanting to target older women. So I feel like you also, you were onto them. Did they listen to that episode? Maybe. But also it was, I think we were speaking about it in reference to Nicole Kidman. Yes, exactly. Very deliberate partnership. I also couldn't help but noticing the subliminal messaging of the construction themed runway. did you guys notice this as well? So they had these big cranes with like lighting going up them and they also had like construction sounds throughout the audio and the music that was playing.

23:46And it kind of made me think that it's subliminal messaging for like, we're building something here. Bear with us. It's in construction. It's like, this is the foundation. I love that. I really love that. I've got something way more naff. I just loved watching all the celebrities in the front row bobbing along to just dance. I'm like, what a banger bring that back every time he's closed a show he has referenced like a 90s pop sort of banger i was surprised by this one though i was surprised lady gaga was the last one i wasn't thinking i'm happy to go on the record as saying just dance is like a top 10 pop song of all time yeah okay okay i don't know if i agree with you okay next we're going to be talking about estee lauder suing joe malone over the use of her name but that will be right after a word from today's sponsor.