April 29, 2026 |
Matthieu Blazy went back to the source for his debut Chanel cruise show, held in Biarritz, where Coco Chanel opened her first couture boutique in 1915. Blazy served a collection with the sea at its heart and mixed a joyful, cacophony ideas: sea shell earrings, sailor stripe knits retro maillot swim suits (worn with thigh fisherman’s high waders), supersized beach bags, raffia beach umbrella-inspired skirts, fishing net dresses and fantastical mermaid gowns, glistening with encrusted sequins.
Long before it became a modern surfing destination, Biarritz, which sits on the French border with Spain, attracted a mix of high society escapees, and artists who revelled in the rugged nature of the place and the freedom it offered, far from the prying eyes of Paris.
For Coco and her contemporaries, it was a place to forget WWI which raged in Northern France. Biarritz was formative to the Chanel aesthetic. Inspired by the outdoor life of swimming, sailing and beaches, Coco developed her distinctive look, borrowing from men’s jersey underwear and sportswear to create looks that combined practicality with her instinctive chic.
“Chanel found in Biarritz different ways of being and seeing, of movement and freedom. She made them her fashion pedestal,” said Blazy. “It’s a place that offers the perfect balance between function and fiction. Among artists, workers, nobility, sailors and the natural world, everyone and everything shared the same stage, living together as a norm. All had a role to play.”
For Blazy too, that idea of function and fiction is also a signature. French workwear inspiration could be seen in the cotton ticking over shirts, sailor trousers and khaki cotton skirt suits – all lavished with the Chanel atelier’s attention to craft (gold buttons and hand-braided collars).
The little black dress played a starring role. First introduced by Chanel in 1926, Blazy went back to that original sketch for his opening look, turning the bow detail at the back into a playful clutch. “Much is said about the ‘revenge dress’ – this might be considered the original one,” noted Blazy of Coco, who grew up in an orphanage, serving the LBD – the uniform of maids and servants – back to the ruling classes.
Other direct archival inspirations? The ‘double-C’ skirt suit worn by ambassador Bhavitha Mandava directly inspired by an original sketch. “We call them ‘blast from the past.’ There are things that are so good that you don’t need to do anything,” said the designer.
But what makes Blazy’s Chanel so compelling (inspiring global shopping frenzies and propelling the brand to the top of the Lyst hottest brand ratings) is how contemporary it all feels: the perfect slouch of his new Chanel skirt suits, the crop of a sharp trouser, the roomy new bag proportions, the ease of a fluttering scarf dress and of course, the must-have two-tone shoes. Blazy makes you want to dive in.
Photography courtesy of Chanel.
