Matthieu Blazy said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Several lights, in fact — oversized planet-shaped inflatables that orbited the stage of Blazy’s debut Chanel collection, all framed by an enormous “sun.” The message? Other fashion houses may build worlds, but Chanel is already a universe unto itself.
Blazy’s entry into Chanel, lensed exclusively for Highsnobiety by photographer Karl Hab, is less a big bang than a reflection of ever-expanding boundaries, looking back on itself like space folding into a black hole. In more concrete terms, the Chanel Spring/Summer 2026 collection that Blazy debuted on October 6 is the house’s future, while maintaining a conversation with the past. The quote Blazy offers in the show notes — “Chanel is about love. … This is what I find most beautiful. It has no time or space; this is an idea of freedom” — may sound like an astrophysics lecture, but it’s not nearly so complicated. It’s just new Chanel informed by old Chanel, Coco’s Chanel, one guiding the other toward a fresh perspective on luxury.
This is a welcome change because, even as Chanel solidified its place as one of the most famous names in fashion history, its ready-to-wear has historically existed outside of luxury’s greater gravitational pull. Chanel always did its own thing. But under Blazy’s guidance, the house is being propelled to fashion’s cutting edge.
The 77 looks presented here are strong on their own merits. They reflect Blazy’s comfort with the grey area that distinguishes approachable and aspirational luxury, a skill he perfected while leading Bottega Veneta.
Set against the classic luxury of previous Chanel overseer Virginie Viard, Blazy’s vision is evocative and strong. SS26 may very well be the most wearable Chanel collection in the house’s modern history, epitomized by powerful coats and generous shirting barely branded with an embroidered “Chanel” script. But this may also be the most probing Chanel collection in ages, with Blazy mutating many variations of Chanel’s signature tweed suit into scant crochet knit and fringe. This is not a Chanel universe as much as it is a Chanel multiverse.
Early in the show, Blazy proposed trim, cropped tailoring that subverted the menswear wardrobe of Coco Chanel muse and lover Boy Capel. Later, riffing on a quintessential Coco quote — “There is a time for work. And a time for love. That leaves no other time” — Blazy melded professionalism and playfulness with trench coats hemmed in an explosion of feathers and a lived-in, nearly inverted Chanel 2.55 handbag. The straightline silhouette so adored by Coco is upheld by sleek separates that occasionally stretch into voluminous drapery so clean that it takes a moment to pick up on exactly how much fabric is involved. Likewise, Chanel’s trademark toe-cap flats are recognizable even as heels, their two-tone facade intact even when split down the middle or separated into cap and heel alone.
Blazy’s Chanel exists in the fourth dimension, all eras of the house collapsing in on themselves. As far-reaching as the planets suspended above models’ heads, the SS26 collection was nonetheless cohesive, both unifying and modernizing Chanel codes. This is a new kind of heavenly body, a dense coalition of starstuff that doesn’t require a physics degree to comprehend.
