San Francisco Frontiers - Matthieu Blazy reaches for the stars in Chanel debut

Ahead of the most-anticipated show of the season, some had wondered how much the 41-year-old would dare change the classic designs of the French house.

Despite the space-themed decoration in the spectacular Grand Palais exhibition space, Blazy eschewed a big bang design revolution, opting instead for modern yet bold tweaks to Chanel's tweeds, blouses and suits.

Gently mixing in masculine looks in the boxy jackets and shirts, alongside statement jewels and stunning long eveningwear in white silk or vibrant red, Blazy harked back to founder Coco Chanel who took inspiration from her boyfriends' wardrobes.

"Constantly expanding, Chanel's universal language travels around the world and towards the future," read the fashion house's notes for the Spring/Summer 2026 collection.

The front-row was a constellation of A-listers from Nicole Kidman, Kendall Jenner to Pedro Pascal, as well as Penelope Cruz and Blazy's first new brand ambassador, "The Bear" star Ayo Edebiri.

The privately owned Paris-based company is the world's second biggest luxury clothing label by sales.

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Blazy was appointed Chanel creative director last December, tasked with moving the brand on from the era of its legendary late supremo Karl Lagerfeld.

He is only the fourth creative director in Chanel's history after Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard, Lagerfeld's hand-picked successor who stepped down last year.

Before being appointed to the job, Blazy had won widespread praise for his work as chief creative at Bottega Veneta, where he helped modernise the look of the classic Italian leather-goods house.

He is one of flurry of new appointments that has created a sense of generational renewal in the fashion industry, with some 10 different brands unveiling collections from debut chief designers over the last week in Paris.

Northern Irish star designer Jonathan Anderson, 41, is the other hot courturier challenging Blazy for the limelight in the French capital.

He made an impressive start at Dior women with his first show on Wednesday, having already released a men's collection in June.

Italy's Pierpaolo Piccioli also set a new tone at Balenciaga on Saturday, having moved to the Paris-based Spanish heritage label to replace Georgian maverick Demna, who has gone to Gucci.

"The questions of succession and creative renewal arise, and it just so happens that it's happening everywhere all at once," Chanel's head of fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky, told the WWD fashion website in an interview published Monday.

The luxury industry is hoping the shake up will help boost flagging sales caused by a slowdown in China, US tariffs and a widespread sense of economic uncertainty.

Chanel reported a 30 percent drop in operating profit in 2024 to $4.48 billion, as revenue fell 4.3 percent.

D.Brown--SFF