Translating the codes of the house for new generations: Matthieu Blazy’s sophomore collection for Chanel
For Fall/Winter 2026, Matthieu Blazy offered a runway of possibilities, expanding his exploration of what a future Chanel will look like.
Big colourful cranes filled the Grand Palais for Matthieu Blazy’s second ready-to-wear show for Chanel. Is it a house under construction? Hardly, but in its new-designer era, you could say that its proposal is. As with his debut collection in October, Blazy reflected that in a line-up of options for that new era, rather than a directive. Granted, at Bottega Veneta his shows were diverse in propositions – owing, not least, to his hyper-textural design language – but at Chanel, it feels more like a process of experimentation about what this house could be in a post-Karl Lagerfeld world.
The show opened with a little black skirt suit pragmatised into an easy knitted form. Blazy riffed on the same approach in another suit made up of a flannel overshirt with a matching skirt. Both ideas felt like a cool way of translating the codes of the house for the times we live in, and for new generations. Then, he applied said hyper-textural language to a series of suits and coats, which segued into effervescent collaged dresses and densely embroidered ones. As the show progressed, so did these contrasts: strict vs. loose, sparse vs. decorated, reality vs. fantasy.
Chanel is function, Chanel is fiction. Chanel is sensible, Chanel is seductive. Chanel is day, Chanel is night. It represents the freedom to choose.
Matthieu Blazy
Referring to a quote from Gabrielle Chanel on how fashion needs to both “crawl and fly” – be pragmatic and eccentric – Blazy called the house a paradox: “Chanel is function, Chanel is fiction. Chanel is sensible, Chanel is seductive. Chanel is day, Chanel is night. It represents the freedom to choose.” On his runway, the choices spanned masculine blousons and blazers to conceptual 1920s dresses with belted drop waists. When a terrific section of psychedelic, textured, translucent, plumed and embroidered looks best described as My Little Pony chic emerged towards the end, you felt like that idea could easily have carried a full show in its own right.
Blazy is by no means alone in toying with his offering. Over the last month of shows, brands and designers have grappled with ambivalence towards both the fashion climate and the socio-political one. In a time of escalating global fear, do we respond with defiant creativity or austere minimalism? Do we test “the market” with new ideas and products, or do we stick to safe bets? Blazy addressed these conundrums figuratively in a soundtrack that oscillated between Lady Gaga’s Just Dance and more sombre sounds, and in expressions that fluctuated from the flamboyant to the familiar.
After a series of looks where a sense of pure creativity peaked, he abruptly reduced his proposal to a black suit and dress that closed the show. (“In the end, there is black,” as Rei Kawakubo said after her Comme des Garçons show on Saturday.) Whether the global mood makes you want to dance into escapism or go all goth and emo, there was something for everyone on the Chanel construction site. This week, Blazy’s debut collection hit the stores, prompting a stampede of fashion editors and cool girls here in Paris. As his diverse offerings start selling, we’ll soon see what sticks.
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