Luxury house Chanel presents its Spring Summer 2026 Haute Couture collection as the first couture expression by Matthieu Blazy in his role as Artistic Director of Fashion Activities. The collection addresses the foundations of the House through couture techniques, symbolism, and a sustained focus on the relationship between garment and wearer. Blazy frames Haute Couture as a space where clothing gains meaning through use, presence, and personal narrative.
COUTURE COLLECTIONS
Haute Couture is the very soul of Chanel – it is the foundation and the full expression of the House. These are clothes that are as much about the wearer as the designer. It’s the clothes worn that give them a true story; their own story and an emotional resonance, giving women a canvas to tell their own story. – Matthieu Blazy
The collection reexamines what defines Chanel by returning to essential forms and materials. Blazy approaches couture as an exchange between maker and wearer, where the body defines how the garment exists. Lightness, transparency, and gesture guide the collection, placing emphasis on individuality. Each look addresses the woman wearing it, presenting couture as personal and not abstract.
The opening look introduces a refined interpretation of the Chanel suit. Constructed from silk mousseline in soft tones, the suit appears reduced to its core structure. This opening look frames the collection’s focus on memory, craft, and intimacy. Symbols associated with the House appear throughout the collection as embroidered or jewelled details. Love letters, a bottle of N°5, and red lipstick appear as motifs, rendered in silk mousseline or jewellery.
These elements occupy unexpected locations. Details rest inside pockets, appear stitched into interiors, hang from the signature chain used for weight, or surface within reworked versions of the iconic bag. Interior elements become visible, exposing a private dimension of couture construction and emotion.
Bird on a mushroom
I saw the beauty at once
Then gone, flown away
– Anonymous haiku
The collection also features avian references. Blazy imagines a range of birds, each distinct in form and character. The ateliers of flou and tailleur, alongside the artisans of le19M, translate these references through embroidery, pleating, layering, and textile work. Feather imagery appears through technique, with feathers suggested rather than directly applied.
The palette shifts from raven black looks, which foreground cutting and tailoring, to complex color combinations that evoke plumage. References range from familiar birds such as pigeons to more ornate forms like spoonbills, herons, and cockatoos. These figures gather within a staged environment of oversized mushrooms and willow trees, forming a setting that supports the collection’s symbolic language.
Chanel Spring Summer 2026 Haute Couture grounds itself in established codes while allowing symbolic imagery to shape the collection. Blazy presents couture as a brief, concentrated expression, rooted in craft and personal meaning.
wow this is sublime! he is doing a job karl lagerfeld would have been proud of! chanel couture needed this sort of detailed overview of the vision. Sadly it got very lost in the past years.