It feels like we’ve been talking about the big fashion switch-around for basically ever, and now, the big fashion switch-around is pretty much done and dusted. Across the course of the last four weeks, we’ve seen Rachel Scott make her Proenza Schouler premiere, Louise Trotter lend her hand to Bottega Veneta, Dario Vitale drop his first-ever Versace offering, and Glenn Martens rope in a bunch of kids to star in his debut ready-to-wear Maison Margiela show – and that’s just the half of it. Last night in Paris, however, there was time for one last mega moment. Closing out the season’s huge-hitters was Matthieu Blazy, with what was arguably the hardest hitter of them all. The designer, who dipped out of heading up Bottega in 2024 finally showed us what he had up his sleeve as he took over at Chanel – a monumental moment for a historic house that has only had four creative directors in its 100-year history. Here’s everything you need to know. 

THE REBRAND IS NIGH

Newly-instated creative directors love to get their hands on the branding as soon as they can – it’s why so many houses’ fonts changed to Sans Serif a few years ago, and why many of them are switching back in recent seasons (looking at you, Jonathan Anderson at Dior). Matthieu Blazy clearly wanted to put his own stamp on his new house, with the show’s invite – a delicate silver chain swinging with a little house pendant – arriving in a chic off-white bag which got rid of the classic ‘Chanel’ moniker and put a tiny double-C emblem in its place. Keep an eye out for more of this coming from the house if you’re lucky enough to be dropping some cash in store. Are we also going to be seeing the end of the camelia corsage? Stay tuned. 

INTO THE COSMOS

To be handed the keys to Chanel must send your brain into orbit, which was conveyed in the show’s setting – a swirling, intergalactic solar system that glowed above the audience’s heads. The show took place, as it almost always has, in Paris’ Grand Palais, which is just down the road (or rather Rue) from Gabrielle Chanel’s first atelier, with the striking setting a nod to the world Blazy is about to create at his new house. 

THE STARS WERE OUT, TOO

What’s a solar system without a few stars? Blazy drew in a swathe of celebrities for his debut, ranging from established Chanel ambassadors like Nicole Kidman, Vanessa Paradis, and Margot Robbie, as well as new faces like Ayo Edebiri, Pedro Pascal, Jennie, and director Steve McQueen. 

THE OPENING LOOK

The first look out of the gate took a long-held Chanel classic and totally transformed it into something fresh and modern, with the bouclé suit becoming a chic set made up of a mannish, boxy jacket with popped collar and a louche pair of trousers. Mother of the house Gabrielle Chanel hated nostalgia with a passion and was renowned for pushing fashion forward in the post-war years, and Blazy’s opening statement set similar intentions. Yes, he was honouring Chanel’s archive signatures, but doing so in his own way. Big sea anemone earrings completed the look, demonstrating Blazy’s talent for creating wildly covetable finishing touches. 

SO MUCH TEXTURE!

Blazy has always been a master when it comes to texture, right from his stint at Maison Margiela, to his most recent gig at Bottega – this big bouncing jellyfish dresses and gowns bearing big pom-poms among some of the most exciting fashions to come down the Milanese runway in recent years. And that’s before we’ve even gotten started on the kind of wizardry he conducted with leather. His vision for Chanel was no different, with the designer turning out new takes on the iconic check, in some cases using tiny caviar beads to recreate it, or blowing it up to new proportions across fuzzy sweaters with big, broad shoulders and oversized outerwear. The balance was great, too. Delicate, diaphanous camisoles with inrictae floral beading were matched with men’s shirts, paying homage to Gabrielle Chanel’s proclivity for chucking on her lovers’ clothes at a time when women didn’t really do that sort of thing. The closing look did this perfectly: a floor-sweeping skirt completely covered in kaleidoscopic coloured feathers was dressed down with the addition of a simple white tee, albeit one crafted from the finest silk the world has to offer. Overall, the whole thing was a confident assertion that the house is in very good hands. 

A DESERVED STANDING OVATION

While there’s been a couple of debuts that have delivered almost unanimously shared positive reviews, we’ve also had our fair share of polarising ones across the SS26 season, with Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier among them. Blazy’s first Chanel offering, perhaps unsurprisingly, fell into the former camp, and scored the designer a standing ovation across the board. Like Gabrielle Chanel, backstage he confirmed he has no intention of getting bogged down in the past and is excited about leading the house forward. Roll on his debut Couture collection in early 2026 – if this is what he does with ready-to-wear, we’re likely about to have our heads blown clean off when he takes it up a notch.