Matthieu Blazy’s first collection for Chanel, which arrived in boutiques at the beginning of the year, sparked a veritable “Chanelmania,” as we have reported several times in recent months. The most desired pieces sold out in a matter of weeks, while long lines formed outside the boutiques of customers, collectors and fans eager to witness the debut of a new era of the maison. Now it is the turn of Blazy’s second signature collection: the Métiers d’art 2026, unveiled last December in the evocative setting of the New York subway, which is finally arriving in select Chanel boutiques worldwide. In keeping with tradition, the Métiers d’art line celebrates the savoir-faire of the specialized ateliers with which the fashion house has been collaborating for decades, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship, precious materials, and carefully hand-applied details.
And once again the result seems to have confirmed Blazy’s success at the helm of the fashion house. On the catwalk, or rather, among the subway cars and New York passersby, the designer constructed a sophisticated but surprisingly playful imagery, where irreverence and sophistication coexisted naturally. Animal patterns, sweaters with symbols inspired by superhero aesthetics, tuxedos and pinstripe suits with an almost gangster attitude alternated with floaty dresses with a 1920s flavor and more relaxed, everyday denim looks. The result was a triumph of different styles, textures and colors, held together, however, by a clear, coherent and instantly recognizable vision. Now those looks are finally landing in stores-from T-shirts emblazoned with the words “I Love New York,” an homage to the iconic tourist T-shirts of the early 2000s, to frayed jackets in écru and cognac tones, featuring elaborate, almost couture workmanship. Customers enthralled by the show will finally be able to purchase some of the collection’s most talked-about pieces. Prominent among those that have already become instantly recognizable is the blue and red jacket worn by Margaret Qualley in the collection’s first teaser campaign video, which in just a few weeks has become one of the visual symbols of this new Chanel phase. Shirts, leather trench coats, and impeccably tailored coats complete the line.
Finally, it must be said that the prices of the collection are perfectly in line with those of a Chanel Métiers d’art: the most elaborate T-shirts, covered in hand-applied sequins, easily exceed $7,000, while outerwear and trench coats with more complex workmanship reach even higher figures. Extreme luxury, to be sure, but consistent with the level of craftsmanship and research that the fashion house continues to want to tell through this line.
[📷chanel.com]
