For Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection, Matthieu Blazy looks at the transformative nature of fashion and its shifting identities. The collection is an open dialogue with Gabrielle Chanel, with each piece representing the various Chanel women she will be at different points in her life.
Set against a backdrop of illuminated birds circling a giant glowing moon at the Grand Palais, the collection journeys through Chanel’s iconic silhouettes, starting with jersey underwear and moving to the pencil-skirt suit, then directing a path into the future through the new smocked tweed. A sheer white dress rendered in silk knit opens the runway, with the model carrying Gabrielle Chanel’s original 2.55 bag from the Patrimoine archives.
The runway quickly transitioned to the iconic pencil-skirt suit in various interpretations, with different cuts, colours, and fabrics. Cropped jackets with sharp shoulders, sheer flowing fabrics, more structured tweed, and beaded embroidery brought a fresh look to the classic silhouette. Dresses ranged from 1920s drop-waist styles to more formal gowns inspired by the 1930s, sequined, knitted, and beaded, and worn with the ease of a T-shirt.
The collection also demonstrated more masculine characteristics through oversized waistcoats, raw-edged gilets, and crisp shirts worn over bare skin. Midway through the collection, bold, clashing patterns were brought together in close-cut suit silhouettes, bringing a sense of spontaneity to the runway.
Then appeared Blazy’s newest technical innovation with Chanel, the “smoked tweed”, a stretch fabric that looks like tweed but moves like activewear. Constructed from silk and elastic thread, it retained the familiar tweed aesthetic while offering more movement, pushing Chanel’s philosophy beyond just motifs and into a design language.
Dresses inspired by the changing skies appeared, from dawn to night, culminating in Anok Yai’s constellation-print dress. Accessories also carried the same spirit as the garments, with two-tone pumps with bold patterns and animal prints, silver metallic detailing on sandals and mules, quilted bags in burgundy, black, white and even zebra prints completing the collection.
