This is a season of new beginnings. More than a dozen houses have ushered in fresh visions, but none carries quite the same gravitational pull as Matthieu Blazy’s debut at Chanel. His arrival marks one of the most anticipated designer debuts in years, a kind of recalibration of one of the most guarded legacies in fashion today.
When Blazy stepped into the role of Artistic Director of Fashion Activities following Virginie Viard’s departure, we all held our breath. And after months of waiting, Blazy unveiled to us a new universe, under a canopy of glowing planets at the Grand Palais. The staging matched the ambition with planets suspended above, a lacquered runway reflected the light like liquid glass.
The collection opened the language of menswear once borrowed by Gabrielle Chanel from her great love, Boy Capel. The opening look solidified corpcore and the pickpocket bag trend with a cropped houndstooth suit jacket with gold buttons, paired with matching low rise trousers, and a distressed and distorted flap bag almost flipped open. Weighted by the house’s signature chain, the proportions were true to traditional male tailoring, shifted toward a Chanel sense of proportion and poise.
A dialogue between masculine and feminine set the tone for fluidity, from suiting, to soft drapey silks paired with crisp shirts made in collaboration with historic french shirtmaker Charvet, monogrammed in contrast stitching at the waist.
Then came an injection of red metallic knotted knits, later shown in black and cream; tweed sets reimagined as knit sets ornamented by fluffy camellias and frayed gently at the edges. Clean, graphic lines in black and white nodded to the precision of Chanel’s packaging and the house’s Art Deco roots while floral motifs loosened into abstraction, hand-painted prints dissolving into petals. Blazy leaned into Chanel’s own architecture with an inherent sense that beauty, like memory, improves when touched and worn.
The 2.55 bag appeared crushed and cherished, its burgundy lining exposed; camellias came slightly crumpled, intrinsic rather than ornamental, and a chrysanthemum earring on the opening look foreshadowed voluminous skirts, jackets, and bags with similar exaggerated application that moved like flowers in the wind on the runway. Oversized chain link necklaces added edge while pearls, glass, and enamel, shimmering between real and imagined.
In the collection’s final act, “L’Universel,” suiting returned, softened by hand-knotted knits and a multiplicity of tweeds and silk layers that spoke to Blazy’s craft and curiosity. Even the footwear, capped toe, polished, yet grounded was very Chanel coded.
The collection built towards a standing ovation, a rare, unanimous swell of approval confirming what many already suspected would be the debut of the season. Blazy’s Chanel stands apart. Not for disruption but for depth. He reanimated the house codes with a vision of movement, modernity and a kind of freedom that felt entirely Chanel.
Discover the full collection below.
