Blazy Builds A New Universe at Chanel
Review of Chanel Spring 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Soulful Craftsmanship, Bridging the Past, Uplifting Ode
Completing a season of debuts, the likes of which have rarely, if at all, been experienced in the industry in the past two decades, Matthieu Blazy’s much anticipated bow had finally come. Not content with simply world building, the designer ushered the French luxury house into a new era where he hinted at the fact that he will be thinking more expansively, by creating his own universe, and he began with last night’s show set which featured a replica of our own solar system, just to drive home his mission.
Chanel (without a designer since June last year, when Virginie Viard stepped down after taking the reins following the death of Karl Lagerfeld in 2019) is renowned the world over for its tweed suits, classic flap bags, and signature fragrances. So Blazy was entering into a world with a storied history and well-established codes. But, his time at Bottega Veneta – whose collections were resoundingly acclaimed by industry critics – was his proving ground for the one of fashion’s most coveted creative director roles.
Drawing in the stars of stage and screen – Tilda Swinton, Nicole Kidman, Pedro Pascal, ambassadors old and new: Margot Robbie and Ayo Edebiri – to his mini universe, little was known of what the new creative director would present at the houses’ spiritual home of the Grand Palais – the scene of both fully functioning rockets and swings suspended from the precious glass ceiling.
Opening with his first look of a tailored pant suit, Chanel immediately felt younger and more dynamic as a boxy cropped blazer and straight-leg trouser entered the runway. This made for a sober start before he broke into a more louche interpretation of the skirt suit – paired with a wrap skirt which leaned into the 80s referencing we have seen across the season, but without the excess. The signature staple of the skirt suit would be further reinterpreted in a myriad of textures from the classic tweed (raw-edged or fringed at the hem) to an open-weave knit, yet all featuring a dropped waist and falling modestly below the knee or incorporating that thigh-high wrap.
The 1920s was a decade heavily leaned into for this debut, seeing as it was a time when Gabrielle Chanel was credited with changing the course of women’s fashion by liberating them from long skirts and the restriction of corsets. The designers use of the dropped waist, delicate lingerie styling and low-slung draping and knotting on straight-cut satin dresses looked refreshingly current in his hands. Silent movie star Louise Brooks – with her sleek bob and flapper style – could have been a muse this season, reinterpreting her look nearly a century later. His use of black and white – another house code – was also more graphic and linear, outlining boxy leather outerwear, silk blouses and pencil skirts with contrast tipping. Recognisable as Chanel, but also not in an obvious way, which is what makes it feel new and will peak customers curiosity.
It was the soulful craft which Blazy has made his calling card at Bottega Veneta which was thankfully evident in this first outing. As Chanel has some very specific parameters which the designer would have to consider in order to avoid alienating the brand loyalists or VIC’s, and yet, he was still able to express his more adventurous ways with surface decoration and texture. The camellia was recreated with tufts of yarn on a knitted skirt set, shaggy fringing danced around the hips of a golden ensemble, floor-length skirts sprouted mounds of feathers and 3D florals in multi-coloured loops decorated sheer knitted – as opposed to a bias cut or chiffon – evening gowns to round out this tour de force of a debut.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Matthieu Blazy’s spring 2026 collection may just take the award for best debut of the season. Reawakening, rather than reinventing the brand his instinct for craftsmanship converged with the seasoned ateliers of the house to produce a confident reinterpretation of their signatures – from the skirt suit to the camellia. His dropped waists, textural language, and graphic cues spoke to Chanel’s past while feeling truly of the present. In his hands these codes came alive again.
Blazy didn’t just debut; he declared — this is Chanel, Now!
