WE ALL FLOCKED TO THE CHANEL SHOW

Coming to the end of the SS27 Fashion season, we were once again blessed by Matthieu Blazy’s creative mind. As always, we convened at the Grand Palais, where this time, instead of planets, botanicals or cranes, we were graced with a migration of gulls in the moonlight, which swept and grazed the ground and flew to the highest point. Amid the birds, eighty-three looks glided along the water-like marbled floor, opening to the soundtrack of Arrival of the Birds by the Cinematic Orchestra.

“I love everything that is above: the sky, the moon, I believe in the stars.” - Gabrielle Chanel

Following previous collections over the past year, Blazy drew inspiration from Chanel herself, especially her origins in the craft. Exposed and delicate knitted jersey undergarments took to the stage first, mirroring the knitted sports and beachwear from the 1920’s.

Then came the iconic suits, popularised post-war in 1954, this time with a floating twist, light florals and beading embellishments, and the merging of light jersey knit underneath thick, heavy-duty blazers for the transitional spring seasons. Emerging from the formal wear came Dagas-esque ballet tutus, again with the signature Chanel drop waist, and parachute dresses in contrasting sunny-day clouds and starry-night skies. As Chanel said herself. “I decided to cover women in constellations. Stars, yes, but not real ones”.

Rachel Ojuromi made her Fashion Week debut in Look 73, a relaxed, pollen-yellow tweed skirt suit. Ojuromi was noticed by Blazy after she and her stylist, Debby Fasingha, had rebuilt the Métiers d'Art 2026 show from scratch, using the streets of Lagos as their runway. Blazy responded with one word: “Everything ❤️", and shortly after, she was walking the Grand Palais floor. With Ojuromi walking beneath a glowing backdrop of soaring birds, it was hard not to get excited about her future as a Chanel girl.

Alongside the new came a return: painter Joël Blanc. Since the Fall/Winter 2026 Chanel show, Blanc has sat painting the collection as it walked and the guests as they mingled. In a room of cameras built for speed and accuracy, Blanc was a quiet counterweight, allowing the show to still be viewed slowly.

A beautiful feature of the collection was the callbacks and hidden details in each piece. Blazy exposed the corset boning and Chanel-branded golden fabric weights, originally used by Chanel, hidden inside garments to prevent lightweight fabrics from shifting and to provide structure and shape. Drawing on this, Blazy says in his show notes that he wanted the birds to represent how Chanel, through the brand, broke free from tradition and became an unbound woman in the industry.

The symbolic freedom of the birds was also a recurring design motif, seen on bag charms, shoe appliqués, and feathered jewellery that mimicked sparrows and seagulls. This trickled into bird-associated themes, such as cherry-foraging earrings, shiny buttons, and nest-shaped necklaces. Not only was the collection filled with nostalgic whimsy and respect, but it also featured innovative silhouettes for the brand, including the transformative jacket that pins back to become a playful, pleated, sleeveless dress, literally taking the Chanel girl from day to night, whilst keeping the original, timeless Chanel 1920s shape.

If it isn't broke, don't fix it… just expand. Chanel and Matthieu Blazy embody that saying. Blazy carries the house's legacy forward with ease, respecting its history rather than bending it to the signs of the times, and bringing guests and shoppers back to an age of classic tailoring.

As the collection progressed and the timeline moved forward, the classical symphonies gave way to a mixtape of pop classics. A-ha's "Take on Me" and a punchy remix of Britney Spears's "Gimme More" had the room dancing and gave the collection a new movement, shimmering brighter with every bass hit. A year into his designs for the house, the confident shift in soundtrack marked a new chapter for Chanel under Blazy's creative direction, and we are here for it.