If you told someone in the ‘90s that Chanel would one day go open-source, they’d probably laugh in perfectly tailored tweed. But that’s exactly what’s just happened. Chanel’s new brand Nevold isn’t just a capsule or a marketing side quest — it’s a full-blown innovation platform. Quietly, and very on-brand, Chanel launched Nevold with heavyweight partners like Cambridge University and Filatures du Parc, making it clear this isn’t performative sustainability, it’s research and development with long-term impact.
So what is Nevold actually doing? In short, transforming trash into treasure. Chanel is taking leather waste and turning it into high-spec structures for footwear. They’re breaking down and rebuilding their iconic tweed from recycled fibres. It’s giving haute couture, but circular. And the wildest part? They’re doing it all openly, encouraging collaboration, not gatekeeping. That’s huge.
This move places circularity as Chanel’s third major activity, next to couture and ready-to-wear. Which sounds small until you realise how seismic that is in the luxury world. It says: sustainability isn’t a trend, it’s a foundation. And it’s not just a moral choice, it’s economic sense. Because circularity isn’t just about saving the planet; it’s about creating stable access to materials, reducing waste in production, and future-proofing fashion against increasing regulation.
This is Chanel we’re talking about. The house of Coco. The one that invented the little black dress and made tweed cool forever. For them to pivot this seriously means the tides are changing and fast. They’ve gone from guarding tradition to transforming it, without losing the legacy. That’s the play.
And here’s the real tea: if a behemoth like Chanel can do it with all their global scale and archival pressure small brands definitely can. In fact, smaller brands are in a better position to move faster, build transparently, and innovate from the jump. Chanel had to build a whole new platform. Most of us just need a smart supply chain and a solid Google Drive.
So where does this leave the rest of luxury? Coach already has Coachtopia. LVMH is investing in circular materials but hasn’t dropped a full sub-label… yet. Will Louis Vuitton be next? What would a circular Balenciaga look like? What about Bottega Veneta?
It’s giving early days of streetwear when everyone was launching from their bedrooms, but now the wave is transparency, traceability, and collaboration. If heritage fashion houses are starting to act like start-ups to get it right, then maybe the next wave of fashion leaders won’t be the loudest brands — they’ll be the smartest.