By
AFP
Published
July 7, 2026
With nods to fairy tales such as ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and to historic pieces from Chanel’s archive, designer Matthieu Blazy unveiled his second haute couture collection for the legendary French fashion house on Tuesday.
Colourful flowers, vines, magic mirrors… The interior of the Grand Palais near the Champs-Élysées was transformed into a lush botanical set for the occasion.
The pieces presented also referenced these tales: coats seemingly woven from straw, recalling scarecrows, and almost sheer dresses adorned with embroidered climbing plants. Other details, such as a handbag shaped like a small sleeping bear, or a duck turning into a swan across a row of buttons, evoked other famous fairy tales.
“I wondered whether Gabrielle Chanel’s life was a fairy tale. In her library, I found the little book Les Fées, Contes des Contes and, together with the haute couture ateliers, we explored the idea of clothes that carry stories, like books,” explained the Franco-Belgian designer in a press release.
The model who opened the show- attended by celebrities including Teyana Taylor, Tilda Swinton, Pedro Pascal, Lupita Nyong’o, and Catherine Deneuve- held in their hand the very book that belonged to the house’s founder. Matthieu Blazy also presented more classic pieces, such as the house’s signature suit, reimagined in multiple iterations: sleeveless, with ultra-short skirts, and with jackets buttoned at the back…
The 42-year-old designer was appointed to Chanel in late 2024, after his tenure at Italian brand Bottega Veneta of Kering group. He succeeded Virginie Viard, Karl Lagerfeld’s right-hand woman, who assumed the creative directorship of the French house after the German designer’s death in 2019; Lagerfeld had helmed the brand for more than three decades.
Another highlight: the Armani show. Silvana Armani, the niece of founder Giorgio, who died in September 2024, is set to present her second haute couture collection later today. Wednesday’s shows by Balenciaga and Jean Paul Gaultier- returning after a season’s absence and a change of creative director- are also highly anticipated. In total, 30 fashion houses will present their haute couture collections- a uniquely French tradition- until Thursday, with pieces destined for galas and red carpets.
Paris (France), July 7, 2026 (AFP)
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