This season in Paris, one topic of conversation dominated the front row: the arrival of
Matthieu Blazy’s first collection for Chanel hitting stores. In between the shows, editors, models, influencers and celebrities swarmed the boutiques in an attempt to get their hands on the new drop, pleading with sales assistants to source them sold-out items as Blazy-ified two-tone shoes and Chanel-Charvet shirts flew off the shelves at lighting speed. Few could recall a frenzy quite like it in recent seasons, years even. One thing’s for certain: the
Matthieu mania is real.
After a truly exceptional debut last season, and much-raved-about Métiers d’art and Couture shows, it’s clear that Blazy is confidently affirming Chanel’s status as one of the most desirable luxury brands in fashion. Unsurprisingly, then, his first Autumn/Winter collection for the house on Monday was the hot ticket of the week. This season, guests (the lucky ones clad in their recent now-impossible-to-get Chanel purchases) arrived to find the usual Grand Palais venue populated by huge colourful cranes in red, green, yellow and blue, towering above a subtly iridescent-glitter floor; a little hint of what was to come.
The atmosphere during the show was electric, with that same sense of joy that was so palpable at Blazy’s last ready-to-wear show shining through the collection once again. He showed us clothes to live in and clothes to dream in, moving fluidly between function and fantasy with an explosion of colour and texture. The mood was amplified by a soundtrack that ranged from Cape Verdean music by Cesária Évora to a remix of Lady Gaga’s Just Dance. Even Teyana Taylor, Jennie and Olivia Dean couldn’t help happily dancing along while watching from the front row.
What Blazy does so well is strike the balance between past and present, taking the Gabrielle’s legacy and injecting it with a genuinely fresh perspective that speaks directly to how women want to dress now (it sounds simple enough, but it’s not always that easy to execute successfully). It’s an approach speaks directly to the core spirit of the brand: Gabrielle revolutionised the way women dressed with her designs, placing modernity and freedom at the core of everything she did. She pushed boundaries and introduced new ideas that shook up the fashion industry of the time. The same philosophy underpins Blazy’s collections.
The Chanel suit formed the backbone of the collection, but Blazy reimagined the classic in a whole array of iterations, introducing new shapes and fabrics for a more contemporary feel. There were ribbed knits, signature tweeds, rich floral-esque brocade and tinsel-effect fabrics that twinkled wonderfully under the lights. Some were made from silk jersey interwoven with tweed trims, while others were beaded, embroidered or even embellished with Blazy’s wildflower take on the Chanel camellia. Some jackets were boxy and close cut, others infused with volume, oversized and rounded, styled collar popped to reveal a flash of the signature burgundy leather that lines Chanel bags. There was a clear sense of ease to each and every one.
Elsewhere, blazers were worn over shirts and paired with skirts that were belted at the dropped waist, cleverly reworking heritage Chanel 1920s silhouettes in a way that felt very modern. Dresses and shoes were covered in sequins, gently rustling as models sashayed by. The thigh-high length of second-skin leather boots in fun pastel colours could be spotted through the slit of a knee-length pencil skirt or the opening of a boucle tweed coat. The collection crescendoed with a cosmic twist, looks animated through iridescent fabrics and finishes, models styled with hair and makeup to match.
Stephanie Cavalli and newest house ambassador Bhavitha Mandava opened the show, leading a diverse cast of models that emphasised Blazy’s inclusive vision. As Blazy put it in his show notes: ‘I wish to create a canvas for women to be unapologetically who they are and who they want to be.’
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