Amongst towering red and pink mushrooms, models strode out in delicate and elegant designs from Chanel’s Couture S/S26 collection.
Referencing a haiku about a bird perching for a moment on a mushroom before flying off, designer Matthieu Blazy appeared to ruminate on a fleeting moment in time as well as the freedom of lightness.
The first outfit set the scene for this idea, recreating the famous Chanel suit in sheer, weightless silk mousseline, edged with crystals.
‘What makes Chanel, Chanel? What is the essence and essentialism of the House? How do you bare its soul?,’ asked the show notes, saying for his very first couture collection, Blazy wanted to refine and reexamine the heart of the famous fashion house.
The idea of the bird from the poem appeared throughout the collection. Colours, shapes, feathers and movement were referenced in many garments from ‘the simple grey pigeon to the extravagant pink spoonbill; the linear heron to the crested cockatoo.’
According to the house, birds represent the ‘ultimate symbols of freedom’.
See a selection of our favourite looks:
Photos / Chanel
