Under the glass vaulted ceiling of the Grand Palais, giant cranes in lacquered primary colors stretched skyward, turning Chanel’s fall 2026 runway into a surreal construction site. Settling into a groove with all of the big “firsts” (first ready-to-wear, first métiers d’art, and first couture collection) behind him, Matthieu Blazy’s message was clear even before the multigenerational cast hit the runway: we are all works in progress. In his show notes, he invoked Gabrielle Chanel’s famous woman as a caterpillar/butterfly metaphor. “Chanel is a paradox,” he wrote, describing the freedom to inhabit multiple identities at once. “Chanel is function, Chanel is fiction. Chanel is sensible, Chanel is seductive.” The soundtrack offered a layered meditation on becoming, remixing Lady Gaga’s peak Millennial club anthem “Just Dance,” Cape Verdean morna music, and voiceovers from the documentary Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives and Billy Elliot.
Blazy seemed in a more relaxed and playful mood this season, no longer so intent on crushing the bourgeois codes of the maison. His classic flap bags arrived in pristine condition, a shift from last season’s version threaded with wires to create an intensely preloved effect. Instead, he offered a cheeky bricolage of the maison’s eras via quilted Caviar bag with double hardware: the flat-link chain strap and Mademoiselle turnlock from Gabrielle Chanel’s original 2.55 (1955), alongside the CC closure and ribbon-threaded strap of Karl Lagerfeld’s 11.12 (1983). There were bags for every scenario, from micro pomegranate-shaped minaudières to maxi plush flap bags that could double as weighted stuffed animals. Quilted suede predominated, offering a fresh take on the matelassé pattern.
Blazy’s spring 2026 two-tone V-vamp pumps—already sold out since hitting boutiques last week—returned in mule and second-skin cap-toe boot versions. There was even a smattering of pearls and camellias. The designer embraced the bouclé tweed suit, that most Chanel-y of all Chanel archetypes, transforming the feminine round-collar, bracelet-sleeve jacket into more masculine-coded work shirts and blousons that carried the same ease as the half-zip he wore to take his bow. Blazy played freely with fabric, moving beyond classic tweed into ribbed knits and intricate weaves threaded with lurex, silicone, and gauze. Skirts varied in length: some landed just below the knee, while others extended longer, with 1920s drop waists balanced by 2020s hip-slung belts. The lady who lunches shed her chrysalis, revealing a woman who contains multitudes.
