Matthieu Blazy has found an antidote to the weight of expectations surrounding his couture debut at Chanel: magic mushrooms.
His pale pink show set at the Grand Palais was dotted with giant toadstools — a welcome relief from the gray skies outside. The designer teased the show with an animation film showing woodland animals at work, “Cinderella” style, in the Chanel couture workshop.
“I wanted something light, poetic and easily understood,” Blazy said in a preview. “Making something light also allows me to dial down the drama.”
With a collection as gentle as a spring breeze, he tiptoed into the daunting task of reinterpreting the most recognizable codes in 20th-century fashion.
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Blazy opened with a nude chiffon version of the classic Chanel tweed suit, its translucent layers barely tethered by the fine chains and pearls sewn into the hems. Worn by Stephanie Cavalli, a fortysomething Italian model, it came with a whisper of a quilted handbag, spilling an embroidered note.
By stripping away brand signifiers like tweed and camellia flowers, Blazy shed the baggage of the Karl Lagerfeld era and sought to return to the essence of the house’s founder.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who revolutionized fashion with her sleek, fluid designs that helped to liberate women from their corsets, famously said: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” Blazy kept going until there was barely anything left between the audience and the models’ wispy underwear.
“It was about this idea of women in motion — of freedom, and clothes that [don’t] constrain her,” he explained.
Fittingly, his mood board was filled with images of birds. He harnessed Chanel’s specialty workshops to conjure everything from brightly hued plumage to a raven-black raffia coat. Pigeon gray petals shimmered on a barely-there skirt suit, while raw threads created the illusion of peacock feathers on a flapper-style dress.
Blazy filled the collection with delicate touches. Psychedelic embroideries echoed the surreal set, while the ghost of a tank top and jeans, rendered in trompe-l’oeil organza, nodded to his work at Bottega Veneta. Best of all was the red evening gown topped with a fuzzy cocoon — the chicest take yet on mushroom couture.
Dotted among the colorful looks were all-black silhouettes, including Alex Consani’s classic LBD with trailing chiffon sleeves.
The novelty, for a brand that has long encouraged its customers to buy into total looks, was to give them a palette of identities to choose from. Blazy underscored the idea by inviting models to select personal symbols and messages to stitch into the clothes.
His thoughtful approach to casting injects his shows with a rare sense of joy. Bhavitha Mandava, fresh off her viral appearance in his Métiers d’Art display in New York, beamed as she circled the runway, exiting with a little pirouette.
The mood was infectious: the front row turned into a celebrity karaoke as brand ambassadors Dua Lipa, A$AP Rocky and Margaret Qualley lip-synced to the finale soundtrack, a mash-up of “Bittersweet Symphony” and “Wonderwall.” It was a welcome dopamine hit.
“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to design in general, but given what’s happening in the world, you do wonder what fashion can contribute,” Blazy said. “I wanted this to be a breath of fresh air.”