Matthieu Blazy returned to the town that made Chanel, and brought mermaids with him
There are fashion shows, and then there are moments of full-circle reckoning. Chanel’s Cruise 2027 presentation, held on April 28 at the Art Deco casino on the seafront of Biarritz, was very much the latter.
This was Matthieu Blazy’s first cruise collection for the house, and he didn’t choose the location lightly. Biarritz is where Gabrielle Chanel opened her first couture house in 1915. It is where she watched swimmers and sailors and tanned women on the beach, and turned what she observed into an entirely new language of dressing. Over a century later, her creative director came back to that same coast with the same question: what does freedom in clothes actually look like?
The Collection: Mermaids, Sailors, and a Revenge Dress
Blazy opened with a version of Chanel’s original little black dress, not as nostalgia, but as provocation. He called it the first revenge dress, a garment Coco Chanel designed based on the clothes worn by maids and shop girls, quietly erasing the distinction between them and the grand ladies they served.
From there, the collection moved through Basque sailor stripes, workwear-inspired jackets, graphic prints drawn from vintage beach umbrellas, and quarter-zip sweaters, Blazy’s personal uniform, worn over full skirts. It was grounded, confident, and deeply researched.
Then it got playful. Blazy sent models down the runway in rubber wading boots, earrings shaped like red peppers, a local Basque specialty, and shoes that were little more than a heel cap. One model carried an enormous straw beach tote. Another, six months pregnant, wore a bikini top with a tweed skirt suit, baby shoe charms dangling from her bag. The finale arrived in a turquoise sequined gown with a fishtail hem, Blazy’s mermaid fantasy made literal, and completely earned.
The Accessories Will Break the Internet
If his Spring 2026 debut triggered Chanelmania, and it did, Cruise 2027 is about to do it all over again. From an oversized tote to a waterproof version of the classic flap bag, Art Deco-inspired heels to the now-talked-about barefoot heel caps, the accessories alone will fuel months of conversation. Brand ambassador A$AP Rocky was spotted in the front row clutching a bright pink Chanel maxi flap adorned with miniature ballet flat charms, a personal gift from Blazy for his daughter with Rihanna.
Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, Marion Cotillard, and Sofia Coppola rounded out a front row that felt less like a PR list and more like a genuine gathering of women who actually care about clothes.
Why This Show Matters
Blazy has now done three collections for Chanel: the Spring/Summer 2026 debut, the Métiers d’Art show staged in a New York City subway station, and now this. Each one has said something different, and each one has landed.
What Biarritz confirmed is that he understands the house at a level beyond archive-mining. He described his approach plainly after the show: “This is where she took her first steps into fashion. What’s very interesting about Biarritz is that she basically observed. She watched the swimmers. She tanned. She watched the sailors.”
That’s exactly what Blazy did, he observed, then built something that feels both completely Chanel and entirely new. The house is in good hands.
