One year into his tenure as creative director of Chanel, Matthieu Blazy unveiled the Chanel SS27 ready-to-wear collection at the Grand Palais in Paris on October 5, 2026, sending 83 looks down a runway crowned by a flock of giant illuminated birds. Titled “Different Faces of the Same Coin,” the show traced the many identities of founder Gabrielle Chanel — from Edwardian corsetry to liberated menswear-inspired dressing — in what reviewers are calling Blazy’s most confident statement yet for the house.
FAKTA
- What: Chanel Spring/Summer 2027 ready-to-wear collection by Matthieu Blazy.
- When and where: October 5, 2026, at the Grand Palais during Paris Fashion Week.
- Theme: The life of Gabrielle Chanel told through birds and freedom; collection titled “Different Faces of the Same Coin.”
- Scale: 83 looks, opened and closed by newcomer Dyanira Hurbuscher carrying Coco Chanel’s original 2.55 handbag from the house archives.
- Key details: Illuminated birds suspended above the runway, reworked “smocked tweed,” deconstructed menswear and 1930s-inspired eveningwear.
- Front row: Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa, Ayo Edebiri, Alexa Demie, Pedro Pascal and John Malkovich.
- Business context: AFP reported Chanel’s revenue rose by around 16 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
A sky full of birds over the Grand Palais
The set made the metaphor impossible to miss. Above the runway hung a canopy of giant illuminated birds — described variously as origami cranes, golden swifts and swallows from Calabria — alongside a glowing moon, turning the Grand Palais into a dreamscape between night sky and theatre. Blazy has used flight as a symbol for Gabrielle Chanel’s own journey toward independence.
“This is not a historical collection; it’s a collection about Gabrielle Chanel’s layered stories,” Blazy said. “Ultimately, Chanel took off, and each step she took led to her being free, like a bird.” For more runway coverage from the fashion world, see Watan News’ fashion section.
Chanel SS27 collection: the highlights
The show opened with a sheer white slip dress decorated with a soft rosette at the chest — a deliberate break from the house’s signature black — paired with Gabrielle Chanel’s original 2.55 bag borrowed from the archives. Sheer fabrics, visible underpinnings and lingerie-inspired details ran through the collection, nodding to Chanel’s beginnings in a lingerie atelier.
Reworked tweed
Tweed stayed at the heart of the collection, but Blazy loosened it. A new “smocked tweed” transformed the house signature into a stretchy, lightweight and malleable second skin — a modern equivalent of the jersey that once freed women from restrictive clothing — while knee-length skirts landed with raw hems, jackets came with sheer panels, and one red-and-white tiger-print tweed pushed the code somewhere louder.
Borrowed menswear
Masculine tailoring was deconstructed into raw-edged gilets, waistcoats, trousers and pencil-skirt suits — traditional men’s tailoring picked apart and redesigned for women. Jackets were worn against bare skin, blouses floated half-open and skinny belts were knotted with deliberate imperfection.
1930s eveningwear
Eveningwear arrived with a clear 1930s accent: sequins, bias-cut silhouettes and delicate knits that were, in the show notes’ phrasing, “light enough to slip on and wear with the ease of a T-shirt.” Ballerina tulle dresses with Edwardian corsetry sat beside mismatched printed suits with harlequin collars.
Front row and finale
The front row read like a streaming-service homepage, with Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa, Ayo Edebiri, Alexa Demie, Pedro Pascal and John Malkovich in attendance. Kidman was heard reciting Virginia Woolf during the show, before the finale closed on a mash-up of Britney Spears’ “Gimme More” — a playful ending that reportedly had guests, including Dua Lipa and Kidman, dancing in their seats.
Accessories carried the bird theme through: new flap bags, cloud bags, bird-inspired jewelry and a birdcage minaudière whose birds had flown, alongside archive pieces such as the 2.55. A constellation-print dress, worn by Anok Yai, marked the collection’s shift from a dawn-to-nightfall sky sequence into seduction and tailoring.
The collection as a timeline
Rather than a historical retrospective, Blazy structured the 83 looks as a biography in three chapters — the evolution of Gabrielle Chanel from rebellious young woman to fashion revolutionary.
| Chapter | Inspiration | Key looks |
|---|---|---|
| Edwardian youth | Corset boning, peplums, ruffled collars, lingerie-atelier roots | Sheer white slip with feather rosette, tulle dresses with corsetry |
| Borrowed menswear | Chanel’s pioneering experiments with men’s tailoring | Raw-edged gilets and waistcoats, mannish tailcoats, pencil-skirt suits |
| Post-war liberation | The liberated suits and 1930s bias-cut gowns | Rounded-shoulder jackets worn bare, knee-length skirts, sequin eveningwear |
Conclusion
A year into his role, Blazy has made Chanel feel increasingly like his own: the house codes pulled apart and allowed to move more freely, styled with a deliberate undone ease — “I like the idea that you wear your Chanel suit like a T-shirt.” With revenue up roughly 16 percent in the first half of 2026, according to AFP, the commercial audience appears to be watching the same show the designer is staging. If this collection is any indication, the birds Blazy set free over the Grand Palais are not coming back to the cage.
