CHANEL returns to Biarritz for the Cruise 2026/27 show, marking a direct link to the place where Gabrielle Chanel opened her couture house in 1915. The presentation introduces Matthieu Blazy as he reveals his first Cruise collection for the House. The choice of location connects the current moment with a formative period in CHANEL’s history, when Biarritz served as the site where early collections took shape.
CRUISE COLLECTIONS
Gabrielle Chanel selected Biarritz as a departure from Paris, establishing a space that brought together boutique, ateliers, salons, and a private apartment. This structure anticipated the model later developed at Rue Cambon. After her work as a milliner in Paris, Deauville, and Monte Carlo, she used the Basque coast to introduce clothing that shifted the direction of her practice. The early collections presented there established the foundation of what would become the CHANEL style.
The Cruise 2026/27 show returns to this origin point with a focused intent. The presentation will take place on April 28 at 6:30 p.m. Paris time. By staging the show in Biarritz, the House places attention on the location where its early development unfolded, linking the current collection with the conditions that shaped its beginnings.
Early previews suggest a setting that moves away from a conventional runway format. Teaser material introduces a coastal environment, shifting the visual direction toward the ocean. A black and white film directed by Julien Martinez Leclerc sets this tone through a sequence featuring model Noor Khan and dancer Kirill Sokołowski. The narrative concludes with a transformation into a mermaid and a dive into the sea, establishing an aquatic reference that informs the presentation.
The coastal setting reflects the environment that influenced Gabrielle Chanel during her time in Biarritz. The Atlantic coast provided a context where she developed designs defined by movement and reduced structure, including silhouettes that moved away from corsetry.
The show will take place at the Villa de Larralde, a location tied to the period when Chanel began to introduce sportswear into her collections. This return carries a clear reference to the site where those ideas first appeared. Under Matthieu Blazy’s direction, the Cruise 2026/27 collection points toward a new interpretation of these references. The preview material suggests a move toward forms that extend beyond direct archival reference, introducing elements that draw from mythological imagery.
