There is a moment of suspense between the runway and the boutique that everyone in the fashion industry knows well, but rarely discusses out loud. It is the interval between the spectacle — the lights, the applause, the social media fodder — and the reality of the fitting room, the wait lists, and the credit card.
In Paris, amid the FW26 ready-to-wear shows, the first creations from the newly appointed creative directors are arriving in stores. And what one observes in the boutiques reveals far more about business strategy than any trend analysis ever could. The context, it should be noted, is challenging: the recovery in the luxury sector is slower than anticipated, while global conflicts — most recently war in the Middle East — keep some key spenders away.
But last Thursday, when Matthieu Blazy’s first Chanel creations began arriving at stores across Paris, the city’s fashion scene was abuzz. Editors, celebrities, and other influential figures swarmed the brand’s boutiques in between shows, trying to get their hands on the spring ready-to-wear collection.
“I haven’t seen people this excited about shopping in as long as I can remember. I happened to be popping by Le Bon Marché on Friday, when Paloma [Elsesser] and I saw they had the shoes and I was so excited that I audibly gasped and immediately bought the pair I’d been obsessed with since the show: the glossy black croc-stamped pumps,” said editor and luxury consultant Olivia Singer after she was seen sporting a Chanel shopping bag at the Mugler show later that day.
“Matthieu mania is clearly underway, and the collection looks even better in person,” says Lynne Bredfeldt, Nike’s global senior director of sportswear, energy, and entertainment communications, who was also in Paris last week. She was looking for a pair of mint green embossed croc pumps, though that color wasn’t available at the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré location where she began her hunt. The sales associate let her know they’d arrive at Le Bon Marché the following day, where she ended up scoring a pair.
The full breadth of colors was to be found at the historic Rue Cambon store, which drew the biggest crowds upon the collection drop. Bredfeldt stopped in to check out the selection and spotted new Chanel ambassador Bhavitha Mandava shopping. “It really felt like a new day,” Bredfeld remarked. Model Amelia Gray and Meta’s Eva Chen were also seen in the stores. The latter described the atmosphere on the day of the new collection arriving at Rue Cambon as a “first day of school energy”.