From Chanel’s CEO to its fashion muse being Indian, Emmanuel Macron applauds the country’s global power

French President Emmanuel Macron is in India for a three-day visit that will focus on deepening the European power house's strategic partnership with India. Be it the hype around the potential 114 Rafale jet deal, participating in the AI Summit in New Delhi, a jog at Marine Drive, or meeting the legends of the Indian film industry, Macron is making daily headlines. But the most powerful comment came yesterday during his speech in Mumbai, where, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he launched the India-France Year of Innovation. He said, "The CEO of Alphabet is Indian. The CEO of Microsoft is Indian. The CEO of IBM is Indian. The CEO of Adobe is Indian. The CEO of Palo Alto Networks is Indian. The CEO of Chanel is from Kolhapur, right here in this state...India does not just participate in global innovation; India leads it."

What Macron has mentioned has been a trend in the global industry, at least when it comes to Big Tech, for more than a few decades. Some names are more popular than others. For example, when we say Microsoft, you think of CEO Satya Nadella. For Alphabet, that name is Sundar Pichai. There's Arvind Krishna at IBM,  Neal Mohan at YouTube, Nikesh Arora at Palo Alto Networks, Shantanu Narayen at Adobe, Sabih Khan at Apple, and Devika Bulchandani at the ad world giant Ogilvy. 

Indians at Chanel

Chanel CEO Leena Nair found a special mention in Macron's speech, which also highlighted her hometown, Kolhapur in Maharashtra. Nair has been leading Chanel for four years now. She officially took charge of the luxury maison in January 2022. Nair, now also the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, is the first female, South Asian CEO at Chanel. Nair, 56, holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Telecommunication. She earned her MBA from XLRI, earning a gold medal. She began her career at Hindustan Unilever as a summer intern in 1992 and left in 2021 as the first female, first Asian, and youngest-ever chief human resources officer. 

After the death of Chanel's former chief creative officer, Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion house was struggling with the transition. Nair is tasked with extending the luxury label's long-running success while modernising its structures and storytelling. This choice created a domino effect and made one more Indian the face of Chanel. 

After Lagerfeld's lead designer Virginie Viard concluded her 30-year career at the fashion house in June 2024, Nair roped in Matthieu Blazy as the new creative director of Chanel. Blazy had an impressive resume, including names such as Balenciaga, John Galliano, Maison Margiela, Celine, and Calvin Klein. But it was his creations at Bottega Veneta that had the fashion world in a chokehold. He was called the Magician of Milan! This sorcerer then spotted a muse for Bottega at a subway station in New York City--Bhavitha Mandava.

The Muse 

This Hyderabad girl is pursuing a Master of Science in Integrated Design & Media/Human-Computer Interaction at NYU. She walked exclusively for Blazy at Bottega Veneta's Spring/Summer 2025 show. After his move to Chanel, Blazy brought his muse along. Then Mandava became the first Indian to open a show for Chanel at the prestigious Métiers d’Art 2026 collection. At the recently concluded Paris Couture Week, Mandava became the first Indian model to be the Chanel bride.

From CEO to Muse, Chanel and the world cannot get enough of Indian talent. 

Image: Getty Images

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