Matthieu Blazy's Chanel SS27 Reimagines House Legacy

Matthieu Blazy marked one year at Chanel with the Spring/Summer 2027 show at Paris Fashion Week. Titled La Conversation, Part Three, Different Faces of the Same Coin, the collection presented at the Grand Palais on October 5, 2026, explores the evolving identity of Gabrielle Chanel through an overarching theme of freedom. Blazy framed the SS27 collection as a conversation across time, using avian symbolism and immersive staging to trace her legacy from Edwardian girlhood to postwar suiting.

Guests entered to find 95 bird-like lanterns suspended in mid-flight above a vibrantly painted floor, creating the illusion of a flock migrating over a shimmering riverbed. The soundtrack transitioned from Lesley Gore's 'You Don't Own Me' to an energetic remix of Britney Spears' 'Gimme More', a beat that prompted the entire front row to break into dance. Chanel ambassador Nicole Kidman, seated alongside Ayo Edebiri, Pedro Pascal, Kristen Wiig, Dua Lipa, and Alexa Demie, read passages from Virginia Woolf during the presentation. Model Dyanira Hurbuscher opened and closed the show, carrying Gabrielle Chanel's original 2.55 handbag from the house archives.

Deconstructing the Chanel code

The collection reimagined Chanel’s signatures-tailoring, tweed, and the 2.55 bag-through raw edges, stretch fabrics, and unexpected layering that prioritized movement. Blazy deconstructs masculine formal wear into raw-edged gilets, tailored trousers, and pencil-skirt suits. A central innovation was the debut of 'smocked tweed', a stretch performance garment that adapts to the body like a second skin for weightless mobility.

The Chanel suit was reimagined in this newly developed stretch fabric, retaining the visual grain of tweed with the ease of athleticwear. Boxy, open-front jackets were worn directly against bare skin, while nubby knitted shells replaced traditional blouses. A black-and-white windowpane tweed skirt suit arrived deliberately frayed, with strips of fabric and fringe cutting across its surface. Jackets were patchworked and edged with metal loops that behaved like jewellery.

Sheer, body-skimming constructions allowed lingerie to become part of the silhouette. An off-white spaghetti-strap midi dress was knitted in an open, ladder-like grid, with briefs deliberately visible beneath. Shift silhouettes were interrupted by wrapped details falling low across the hips. Blazy relied on visual tensions: an oversized vest against a frayed skirt, glossy silk against mesh, crisp against unfinished.

Edwardian elements were reinterpreted as lines of shadow boning, peplum flourishes, and ruffled collars. Thirties-style evening gowns were sequined, bias-structured, knitted, or beaded, slipping on with the ease of a T-shirt. Accessories included new watch-chain flap bags, cloud-printed leather goods, and a birdcage minaudiere. A recurring 3D floral brooch punctuated looks from sheer mesh tanks to tailored blazers.

Sensory details: sound, texture, and light

From a soundtrack that sparked front-row dance to fabrics mimicking clouds and light, the show engaged multiple senses to embody its theme of liberation. The 'flou' passage featured layered silk transparencies printed with clouds that billowed off the body like weather, shifting from morning tones to nightfall. One pale sky-blue caped dress had a cascading pearl collar and a train that seemed to carry daylight down the runway.

Avian motifs-specifically swifts and swallows-appeared across embroidery, hardware, and jewelry. Matthieu Blazy said: "The collection examines the multi-layered history and style trajectory of founder Gabrielle Chanel." The prevailing theme of liberation extended directly into the show’s atmosphere. The collection charts a course from Edwardian corsetry to revolutionary, unconstrained suiting.