What is Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel if not whimsical? Respectful, too, apparently, as the creative director spent his sophomore outing at the Grand Palais honoring the spirits of Rue Cambon through a lens of pure movement. The venue itself turned into a primary-colored construction site—a fitting metaphor for an institution very much in the glorious throes of being rebuilt.
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Like Day & Night
For F/W26, heritage took flight. Gabrielle Chanel’s philosophy of “caterpillar by day, butterfly by night” became the central theme of the collection. Blazy found a sweet spot between the grit of workwear and the glamour of a gala. The show opened with the simplest of black skirt suits in ribbed merino—caterpillar territory, grounded and deliberate. From there, things began to shift. Those dropped waists elongated torsos reminiscent of the style in the 1920s. By the time the first iridescent looks appeared, the transformation was underway.
And on the front row, stars like Jennie, Teyana Taylor, Lily-Rose Depp, and Olivia Dean turned heads with their Chanel ensembles.
Some might say that Matthieu Blazy is an idealistic storyteller. But there’s no denying that through his eyes, the double C’s are becoming a colorful, fluttering thing.
Photos: CHANEL
Frequently Asked Questions
Chanel F/W26, designed by Matthieu Blazy, is built around Gabrielle Chanel’s philosophy of “caterpillar by day, butterfly by night.” The collection opens with grounded black merino skirt suits before evolving into iridescent, glamorous looks — tracing a transformation from workwear discipline to gala opulence across a single show.
The Chanel F/W26 front row at the Grand Palais included Jennie, Teyana Taylor, Lily-Rose Depp, and Olivia Dean — each dressed in Chanel ensembles. The show marked Matthieu Blazy’s sophomore outing as creative director, held at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel is defined by whimsy, movement, and deep respect for the house’s heritage. His F/W26 collection channeled Gabrielle Chanel’s original philosophy through contemporary silhouettes — dropped waists recalling the 1920s, iridescent fabrics suggesting transformation, and a primary-colored Grand Palais set framing the house as an institution being gloriously rebuilt.
Key elements included ribbed merino black skirt suits as the collection’s grounded opening, dropped waists elongating the torso in a nod to 1920s proportions, and iridescent looks marking the show’s metamorphic shift toward glamour. The Grand Palais was transformed into a primary-colored construction site — a metaphor for Chanel’s ongoing reinvention under Blazy.
Where Blazy’s debut Chanel collection was described as a period of learning the house’s language, F/W26 reads as a more confident and personal statement. The metamorphosis theme — moving from structured simplicity to iridescent fantasy — suggests a designer finding his voice within one of fashion’s most iconic institutions.
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