Chanel presented its Cruise 2026/27 collection by Matthieu Blazy in Sydney on November 5, 2026, bringing its maritime references to The Cutaway beneath Barangaroo Reserve. The venue, on Gadigal Country, honours First Nations peoples. Its natural sandstone helped establish the setting for the collection’s Australian presentation.
The Sydney show followed the collection’s debut in Biarritz last April. There, in the town where Gabrielle Chanel founded her couture house and presented her earliest collections, Blazy examined the house’s founding elements. His first Cruise collection for Chanel draws on the relationship between city life and the ocean, with clothes conceived for contemporary daily life and indoor and outdoor settings.
The little black dress, double C and striped sailor top form part of that vocabulary, alongside further maritime references. Sensory, innovative materials give these familiar elements a fresh treatment. Sydney’s urban surroundings and proximity to the ocean carried the coastal context of the Biarritz presentation into the Australian show.
For the set, Chanel returned to ideas introduced in Biarritz, where the design opened onto the ocean. At The Cutaway, the site’s sandstone accompanied an Art Deco-inspired environment defined by understated lines and the house’s signature black and beige.
Five interconnected rooms offered different atmospheres through mirrors, pale carpeting, rare objects and everyday items. Some recalled Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment at 31 Rue Cambon. These domestic references brought an intimate scale to the venue, linking the rooms with their architectural and natural surroundings.
After the presentation, guests joined Chanel ambassadors and friends of the house for an evening featuring Kylie Minogue. Her performance accompanied DJ sets by Kinder Sounds and Jimmy Lyell, completing the collection’s Sydney stopover.
Australian talent featured in the runway cast, with Julia Nobis opening and closing the show alongside models including supermodels Gemma Ward, Catherine McNeil, Charlee Fraser and Latahlia Hickling.
Among the guests were Chanel ambassadors Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman, both wearing looks from the Spring/Summer 2027 ready-to-wear collection. Robbie wore a white silk dress with a matching skirt, while Kidman chose a black grain de poudre jacket and matching pants with a snow silk cotton top and white cotton shirt. Both actresses completed their outfits with Chanel accessories, bags and shoes.
Australian singer Kylie Minogue wore an ecru cashmere silk cardigan and matching skirt, from the Spring Summer 2027 ready-to-wear pre-collection, paired with Chanel accessories, a bag and shoes.
The audience also included filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, actor Joel Edgerton, Vogue Australia editor Christine Centenera, Olympic champion Cathy Freeman and fashion designer Jenny Kee. Kidman attended with her daughter Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, while contemporary artists Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Atong Atem joined the gathering. Other guests included singer Soobin, DJ and producer Dom Dolla, actresses Olivia DeJonge and Miah Madden, model Mia Hewitt, singer-songwriter Jacoténe, DJ Bella Kasimba, musician Noah Hill and surfing champion Layne Beachley.
