Much like the story of Gabrielle Chanel, Matthieu Blazy’s tenure at the maison writes itself like a fairy tale. The Belgian designer has breathed new life into Chanel’s icons while staying true to the house—and for fall/winter 2026 couture, he spun them into a fairy tale of his own.
Today, guests like Tilda Swinton, Lupita Nyong’o, Catherine Deneuve, and Pedro Pascal—all outfitted in Blazy’s effervescent Chanel creations—stepped inside the Grand Palais, which was transformed into a surreal garden with life-sized vines and fauna. The venue set the scene for Blazy, who took to the idea of fables, from “Jack and the Beanstalk” to “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” after discovering a book inside Gabrielle Chanel’s library.
Aptly titled “Gaby and the Beanstalk,” the offering cast the designer as the heroine of her own imagined fable.
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The collection announced its intentions from the get-go. The parade began with a deconstructed tweed skirt suit, a Gabrielle Chanel hallmark, Blazy-ified in a sheer, light silk mousseline finished with a peek of an exposed bra and raw edges. In one hand, the model held Gabrielle’s copy of Les Fées, Contes des Contes, which translates to Fairies, Tales of Tales. In the other, a matching evening clutch, its frayed fabric hanging to the side.
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The camellia flower appeared throughout the collection, intermixed with thorny vines and spiky botanical motifs. “Fairy tales are there to make you uncomfortable,” Blazy said backstage after the show. “‘Am I going to come out of this book alive or not?’ I liked this idea of a dangerous flower—we call them the toxic flowers of Gabrielle.”
A trio of “Scarecrow” looks, each with its strawlike frayed finishes and wisps of raffia, was followed by everything from liquid silk dresses cut on the bias to reworked LBDs and a camel-hued “going out” top and skirt. They were clothes that, Blazy explained, encapsulate “the adventure of the everyday.”
Accessories took a “bric-a-brac” approach. Metallic minaudières shaped like fairy tale characters replaced flap bags. Tangled charm necklaces were layered over the necklines of “tweed” jackets, worn with just-as-jumbled chain belts. Chanel’s signature pumps, which have been given new life under Blazy, appeared in transparent fabrications and were embellished with gold-leaf, egg- and bean-shaped pearl high heels—iterations that are sure to become hot commodities among the brand’s clientele.
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Ending a couture défilé with a wedding dress has long been a Chanel tradition, but Blazy—who, yes, designed one of the year’s most memorable bridal looks for Dua Lipa—chose to buck convention. He placed the bride in a lace drop-waist gown and veil, mesh shoes and all, several looks before the finale.
The reason? “This would not be Chanel’s fairy tale,” he said. “She never got married.” Instead, Blazy gave the final word to arguably Gabrielle Chanel’s greatest creation: the little black dress.
This article was first seen on ELLE US.