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At Grand Palais, the opening pulse of ‘Just Dance’ by Lady Gaga signalled that something playful was afoot at Chanel. For his Fall/Winter 2026 show, artistic director Matthieu Blazy drew on a line from Gabrielle Chanel: fashion as both caterpillar and butterfly. The metaphor proved apt for a collection that evolved, quite literally, from grounded practicality to nocturnal flourish.
Blazy began with the House’s most reliable instrument: the Chanel suit. But here it was loosened, stretched, and reimagined in a language that felt both archival and futuristic. Ribbed knits replaced rigid tailoring; tweeds were threaded with lurex and even silicone; bouclé work shirts and masculine blousons suggested a wardrobe that could drift easily between settings and time. These silhouettes traced a loose path through the Maison’s history, with echoes of the twenties and thirties, then the mid-century decades, before circling back to the present.
Gradually, the collection gathered lift. Silk jerseys and featherlight beaded knits introduced movement, while the waistline dipped lower, creating elongated torsos and languid proportions. Long sweater vests paired with pleated skirts hinted at the ease Blazy seems keen to bring to the Chanel vocabulary. No more was this visible in the colour palette, though. While Coco’s black-and-white foundations will always be ever-present on the runway, Blazy’s joyous use of colour across his now three collections is so well considered and balanced that even the most purist Chanel customer could embrace its spectrum.
Casting underscored this evolving mood. Viral newcomer Bhavita Mandava appeared alongside the irrepressible Alex Consani, while the welcome presence of veteran models reappeared in a buck against the industry’s tireless obsession with the new! new! new!
By nightfall (at least sartorially), the butterfly had well indeed emerged. Streamlined coats, sinuous dresses and iridescent embellishments glimmered under the lights, while enamel jewellery, pastel second-skin boots and playful minaudières added a surreal, almost Impressionist sheen.
After a history-making SS26 debut, it’s clear that in Blazy’s hands, Chanel remains what it has always been: sensible and fantastical at once. Clothes to live through the day in, and come alive in the night, transforming as we do.
