Show review in a sentence: How the idea of modern menswear can transform the spirit of Chanel
Designer: Matthieu Blazy
Location: Grand Palais, Paris
The vibe: Watching a Matthieu Blazy show can often feel like your senses are going on an overdrive. His storytelling is at once idiosyncratic, wilful, irresistibly alluring and at times, emotional. Today at Chanel, one of the most anticipated shows of the season, guests looked on in awe as the Grand Palais was transformed into a gleaming solar system. The floor shimmered underfoot in an iridescent gloss, evoking the sensation of walking across the magnified surface of a distant planet. Perhaps it was a nod to Coco Chanel’s long-standing fascination with celestial motifs and astrology, or, as Blazy simply put it, “we all observe the same sky, and that provokes the same emotions within us.” That sentiment alone was enough to send social media into a frenzy.
The vision: As the final guests hurried to their seats, the show opened to the delightfully thumping beats of SNAP!’s ‘Rhythm Is a Dancer’—a pulse that heightened the entire experience. The first model emerged in a cropped, boxy suit cut from fine Prince of Wales check, trousers slung low on the hips with briefs peeping from under, sleeves rolled up in a perfunctory gesture of ease. In her hand, the classic 2.55 bag appeared as though it had lived several lives—worn, loved, and repurposed. The look felt boyish, liberating, and utterly nonchalant; exactly how Coco Chanel might have envisioned her woman of today. After all, she was the one who first borrowed from menswear, introducing jersey, gabardine and tweed in the name of freedom. From there, the momentum only grew more exhilarating. Boyish Oxford shirts (embroidered with a new logo lifted from 1910) and slinky silk tees were paired with Blazy’s most formidable display of swooshing, textural (feathers arranged to look like an explosion of petals), flamenco-style skirts—each movement a study in rhythm and restraint of equal parts elegance and abandon. The idea of liberation also surfaced in the way he reworked the classic tweed suit—filmy to a point it they looked like screens on the body or edges left deliberately frayed, as though sliced with a pair of blunt scissors. In place of those raw hems saw strings of dangling beads in tonal hues catching light whilst amplifying the drama that comes with the movement.
Even the house’s iconic two-tone shoes and classic flap bag received a modern update; the toe caps now slightly elongated and squared off, while the signature quilting was completely removed, and that instantly shaving years off these once-mature house staples. And while most of us are still in the midst of unpacking what was possibly one of the most invigorating shows in recent memory, I daresay there was a bit of Chanel for everyone this evening and that alone is a big win for a spectacular designer that is Matthieu Blazy.
What to shop from this collection: I’ve always believed in owning at least one piece from the debut season of a newly appointed designer—almost like a keepsake and this season, I’d say it’s worth revisiting the house classics. Start with the ultra-boyish Prince of Wales check jacket (look 1), then the cropped pinstripe shirt with the newly embroidered logo (look 20), followed by the plaited tweed shirt adorned with those ever-so-charming beaded fringes (look 48). And to finish, the crushed classic 2.55, now dipped in silver, gleaming like a relic reborn.
1 / 13
Look 1
2 / 13
Look 5
3 / 13
Look 11
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Look 12
5 / 13
Look 17
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Look 20
7 / 13
Look 27
8 / 13
Look 32
9 / 13
Look 35
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Look 44
11 / 13
Look 48
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Look 51
13 / 13
