Chanel Spring 2027: Free as a Bird

05 Oct 2026, 22:14 by Joelle Diderich · WWD

Chanel Spring 2027 Ready-to-Wear Collection at Paris Fashion WeekDominique Maitre/WWD

A year ago, Matthieu Blazy stood on the cusp of a new era as he prepared to show his first collection for Chanel. On Monday night, he returned to the Grand Palais a conquering hero, with the year’s most successful brand revival under his belt.

As guests milled in the vast steel-and-glass structure, under a flock of 95 birds suspended in midflight, you could visually tick off his various collections on the guests (look number eight from the Métiers d’Art show seemed especially popular.)

His spring 2027 collection was at once a digest of the codes established over the last 12 months, and a signal of what’s next.

It was rooted in an ongoing dialogue with founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, whose photos were plastered all over his mood board. You could track her progress from stiff Edwardian tailoring to cross-dressing in her lovers’ suits — and ultimately, inventing her own tweed suit, which was to become a defining garment of the 20th century.

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“They are very interesting because you see a side of Chanel that is not known, which is the funny side, the joyful side, the fact that she loved to play music, the fact that she was obsessed with wearing costumes,” Blazy said.

This idea that a woman contains multitudes translated into his most versatile collection to date, with 83 looks that covered a lot of bases.

“Since I started at Chanel a year ago, we’ve tried with the team and the atelier to expand on the idea of women — so not just one woman, but the many women that could enter or belong to the world of Chanel,” he explained.

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Blazy’s boxy silhouettes have been a source of frustration for some Chanelophiles, and he appeared to address that with a plethora of formfitting silhouettes, from clingy, semisheer knits to a pearl-embroidered corset top worn with masculine black pants.

Jackets came in his signature wide, cropped styles, many with graphic motifs, but he added patchwork jackets with corset-inspired ribbon trims; suiting jackets with sloping hems, and sleeveless styles like a zebra-patterned gilet with an hourglass waist.

Minimalists might opt for a crisp ivory coatdress with slits outlined in mismatched gold buttons. At the other end of the spectrum, a top, skirt and boots came in three clashing patterns.

Blazy sprinkled in some playful ideas, like a couple of dancer silhouettes with frothy tutus, and parachute dresses printed with clouds, or a sparkling night sky.

And he introduced the next-gen Chanel suit, made of a newly developed stretch fabric that blends the look of tweed with the ease of athleticwear. “I like this idea of the future of Chanel, because every design house is obsessed with the future, the sportswear. We all look at Nike,” he said.

The show opened and closed with model Dyanira Hurbuscher carrying Gabrielle Chanel’s own 2.55 handbag from the archives, in a symbolic full-circle moment.

The soundtrack featured brand ambassador Nicole Kidman, who sat in the front row, reading extracts from Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando” and “To the Lighthouse,” in a poignant echo of her Oscar-winning turn as the feminist author.

The set itself was inspired by the village in southern Italy where Blazy spends vacations. It’s home to a river that is a sanctuary for migrating birds. It all ties into the idea of freedom — a principle embedded in the house’s history and especially resonant today, he said.

“We open the same phone every day to watch our news, and not to get too philosophical, but I think there is a space for poetry, beauty, joy, and it’s a good remedy to the dark times,” he said.

Chanel Spring 2027 Ready-to-Wear Collection 84 Photos

Blazy fittingly ended the show with Britney Spears’ “Gimme More.” One year into the job, he seems to be hitting his stride. “It’s a good start,” he said with a grin.