Chanel Pre-Fall 2026 New York

[Caffeine]

The resort collection seems to have been flying off the shelves due to fomo. When I went to the boutique on Friday, they had mostly large sizes left.

 

[briolette]

It hasn't even been a full year since a woman was burned alive on a train in NYC, whether crime has increased or decreased overall, there has been an escalation in the violence of crime. There was a trend of young women on tiktok showing the baggy cover ups they wear over their outfits on the subway to avoid drawing attention - no sequined wilma flintstone dresses.

When nobody attending the show actually uses public transport, it's always going to be more reminiscent of Versailles hamlet peasant cosplay - surely this was Charlotte Casiraghi's first time going through the turnstile. The old sets had a charm to them and were like a parodic fantasy of a supermarket or airport. I don't know who this was supposed to resonate with; the guests looked like they wanted hand sanitiser, the french only like the new york of a cassavetes or scorsese film, and most of their american big spenders would rather cosplay eloise at the plaza. When the train first pulled in, I thought it was an operating public train that was just going to speed through without stopping and actual commuters would get to glimpse the show, which might have been more interesting.

Anyway, those crossover skirts were bad enough the first time, and the random assortment of novelty bags feels like the same confusing line up of guests, trying to appeal to everyone and pleasing no one.

 

[LadyJunon]

It hasn't even been a full year since a woman was burned alive on a train in NYC.

I don't see the issue here. Doesn't every woman want to have her AMcQ FW98 "Joan" moment?

 

[MulletProof]

^ ?? .. seriously wondering which country this sense of humor is from.

That incident was almost as horrific as the case of a man who was SA’d early this year in the R line, post-mortem. You should look it up.. and maybe wonder if that’s the kind of ‘moment’ you'd want...?

There is crime, like in any large city that hasn't had a stellar administration in a while and I don’t understand the point of denying it or normalizing it, and certainly not the point of going all fantasy, claiming it's Gotham City and clutching pearls at any sign of hostility or not so legal conduct and making it sound like it's the apocalypse of a once oh-so perfect city. I think there are more pressing issues such as the upcoming fare increase when they can't spend on an effin' hose to spray the hell out of Chambers.. they somehow had the budget to add spikes on turnstiles, but not for a bit of Lysol..? k. And don't get me started on the scam that is the OMNY card...

That being said, it's a fashion show, not a documentary, so while hideous location, I get why they'd opt for something more cinematic like that as opposed to something like Moynihan Train Hall, which looks like any other hauptbahnhof. Seedy is a bit NY.. it shouldn't look too clinical.

 

[FisforFrank]

^ ?? .. seriously wondering which country this sense of humor is from.

coming straight from hell 💀💀💀

 

[PDFSD]

He also praised Viard, so opinion discarded.

past video´s he was just as hard on Viard..so context is important with this praise

 

[PDFSD]

Kylie Jenner wears fresh off the runway Chanel Métiers d'Art 2026 by Matthieu Blazy - pic by Kylie

 

[tctra]

this just confirmed for me that he is the wrong fit for chanel.

 

[Caffeine]

past video´s he was just as hard on Viard..so context is important with this praise

I actually think he nailed this one...
And it is just a continuation of the Chanel shrinkflation in the later VV years:
Pay more and get less.

Under vv you get cc logos everywhere. Worse fabric and no extra seam allowance.

Now they offer you BV or whatever derivative products you can find elsewhere for way less but they charge you Chanel prices. And the Dacob was really funny!

 

[FashionPower]

Kylie Jenner wears fresh off the runway Chanel Métiers d'Art 2026 by Matthieu Blazy - pic by Kylie
View attachment 1439831

Bruno and Leena acting all elevated and above any other brand with the BV craft bullsh*t and then they end up doing collabs with lowest common denominator influencer. Kendall invited to the debut show releasing deep and meaningful statements as "I love the venue" and inviting Kylie to studio couture show last year (LOL) and gifting her the next it bag.
They are ridicolous

 

[FashionPower]

The resort collection seems to have been flying off the shelves due to fomo. When I went to the boutique on Friday, they had mostly large sizes left.

It's fun cause in my opinion that Cruise collection was rock bottom from the studio. Very Slavic influencer with 50k followers living Dubai and doing onlyfans as a side gig. Too saccharine, juvenile looking and very "influencer". Even the Villa D'Este venue was used in a very cheap way as the show backdrop. It was indeed giving escort girl spending the night with her sugar daddy at the 5 star ultraluxe hotel. The studio did an amazing job with the Metiers D'Art from last year.

 

[Grets]

What is this? An Hermes Kelly? CC now stands for Copy Cat.

 

[PDFSD]

2025 Hard Crash: "Matthieu Who?" and How to Kill a Luxury Brand and the "Go West" Mistake of the Flock of Fashion​

by Susanna Nicoletti
Dec 07, 2025

“When we don’t put the brakes on our self-absorption, we have nothing stopping us from total self-destruction. We become the fruits of our actions.”
― Zeena Schreck, Beatdom #11: The Nature Issue

Dear DeLuxers,

1. Chanel and “Matthieu, Who?”. On How to Kill a Luxury Brand

On December 2nd Matthieu Blazy presented his Métiers d’Arts collection for Chanel in the former Bowery metro station in Manhattan, New York, USA.

This event is relevant for two reasons; the present and the future of the iconic French maison and the decision to go to New York.

Blazy is clearly a fashion darling but we already touched this point in a previous newsletter (see the archive) and we realized that, despite all the buzz, his work never had an impact on the business of the brands he worked for.

He joined BV in 2021 when the brand was doing 1.5 billion euro per year and left in 2024 with 1.7 billion euro revenues. Almost no growth and no Matthieu effect.

Once again when you just hit the first level of the funnel, awareness and buzz, all the money invested is wasted. Today press and instagrammers or tiktokers are overestimated in an empty world where everybody talks the talk.



This is typical of fashion darlings who have a social media following in love with them but who don’t convert and even less they advocate for the brand. Just followers and cheerleaders with no real money or interest to buy the products created by the designers.
And Blazy so far has been the king of this: lots of hype, almost no sales. Facts and figures.

I do not enter in the labyrinth of discussion whether Blazy is talented or not, I just think, as I was discussing a few days ago with one of you in front of a mid-morning cappuccino, that this era needs creative directors who are made of titanium (same for CEOs and top executives).




At the end the top creative directors in the world are no more than 20. They should see themselves live Formula 1 pilots and they should be chosen accordingly based not on unclear potential but following a very precise recruiting process that not only tests their talent (which should include drawing silhouettes and pattern making both in apparel and accessories) but also on their ability to reinterpret the brand codes in a contemporary way but staying loyal to the brand framework they are not expected to design and also mental and physical balance and ability to manage their own stress plus leadership ability. Same as Formula 1 drivers who are not just expected to be famous among the press and influencers but to be physically and mentally fit for the competition.

The responsibility is too big (as well as the salaries) to be left in the hands of people who are just great in self promotion.

Last but not least they should be business savvy and able to sit down with branding, marketing, merchandising, distribution without any fuss. Only a very few of them, like Karl Lagerfeld and Maria Grazia Chiuri can really tell they have been so successful in all the brands they worked for in terms of brand positioning and business growth.

Creative directors should train themselves and take care of themselves in order to be mentally and physically healthy and creatively inspired. Lots of discipline is required to do this and also the ability to set up teams with the best experts ever in the vertical: best pattern makers, accessories designers, textile experts and merchandisers integrated in the decision making. No more friends and family and young interns just because they look good. No more “people” sending cut outs of Loewe bags advertising to suppliers to ask them to copy the Spanish brand bags designs….for big, relevant brands this is shameful. And nobody is allowed to check what is going on in the studios, why? Why so much undeserved power for extremely volatile and uninspired people?

Maturity, generally speaking, should be a pre-requisite and the ability to accept feedbacks and to have meaningful conversations with those who might disagree with you. Same for CEOs, and it is not happening frequently because of an unjustified sense of superiority the design office/CEO and staff develop against the rest of the world.

They do not realize that today they expect the publication of the interview of their life on a big national media and tomorrow they are ousted from the brand like it happened at Dario Vitale at Versace. This picture of its first and last Versace show says it all.



Being appointed creative director today in a fashion or luxury brand doesn’t mean to be gifted total freedom to express oneself, it means being at the service of a constantly evolving business that requires also a creative point of view. It means being a manager, not a Montmartre painter.

Being frustrated because they dislike the codes of the brand that pays them a very relevant salary is immature. Willing to kill the brand founders and their own style has more to do with a Freudian issue than the modernization of a brand. It is not what a brand can do for you, it is all about how you can serve the brand and the customers in the best way to grow a healthy business for the long term.

The problem is not if Blazy is cool or if A$AP Rocky has been stolen by Chanel from Dior as the brand ambassador and not even if the bland commercial with Margaret Qualley filmed by Michel Gondry makes sense or not, the problem is what the loyal customer think about the Blazy impact on the brand they loved and consider as a cult.

The arrival of Blazy, pumped as a fashion genius by the very much involved in all senses communication department of the brand, set the bar very high and the customers, the VVIC ones had very high expectations of wonderfully cut clothes and magnificently made accessories with a new twist, what they always expected and often got under Karl Lagerfeld tenure.

They really didn’t want to see a Chanel by Bottega Veneta made by Blazy. A pot pourri of very badly matched flashy styles that didn’t tell at all the story of the highest craftsmanship of the brand.

And it is interesting to highlight what a great partner in crime (with whom I have very enriching conversation sent me a few days ago) right after the Manhattan fashion show. I am very grateful for this, you know who you are.

This is the voice of the customer that should not be neglected. Two Asian ladies, mother and daughter, who saw the Chanel show from the first row. So VVIC.





https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XzLG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2c51913a-d271-4031-85d3-22c2561c5a5a_648x835.jpeg



A great warning for a brand. I would call it the “Valentino-Michele effect” and it has been a real calamity for the Roman brand that is struggling very hard in these days and will have to take drastic decisions very soon before its too late. The future of Chanel is written in this Tik Tok story. As I always highlighted the customer is smarter than most of the industry managers and designers. As always I am anticipating a very relevant pain point in a moment of pumped self-celebration. As always facing the reality is much more important than believing in a “dream” that will never come true. I was right four months ago about Dario Vitale, I was right years ago about Michele at Gucci and then at Valentino, about Chiuri long lasting power and I will be right also in this case…and many more to come in design and business.

The customer doesn’t want to be chased but it needs to be respected and when the brand sets the bar very high it has to do whatever possible to deliver the best positive impact on its loyal customer base first. Does Blazy have any idea of the customer segments of Chanel? No, very likely. And that is the beginning of his own end. This won’t last very long but it will last enough to destroy the internal know how and sovoir faire and it will rapidly change as soon as Bruno Pavlovski will retire. Remember this.

And, is the “Go West” to chase the American Dream after the Chinese Hard Wake Up Call started ringing a good idea? Chanel went to NY and LV, Dior and Gucci all heading west for the Cruise.

Is it just the decision many brands took because they are just part of the flock of sheep all doing the same things? Maybe this flock needs a very good border collie driving them in the right direction? Switching very brutally marketing investment from a region to another is not such a good idea, at the end. They started a gold rush that, once again, is totally unbalanced. They all seem like headless chickens running around.

 

[FashionPower]

I'm sorry but had Virginie released a fully sequined "I love NY" t-shirt and a jacket with statue of liberty face silhouette plastered all over the lining every influencer and critic from hautelamode to ideservecouture would have roasted (rightfully) her so hard.
There is absolutely no depth in this collection but fashion people are going to praise this as the most revolutionary show of all times.
New York = big apple = apple Minaudiere
New York = statue of liberty = statue silhouette print
Even a 5 years old kiddo would have thought of this.
Virginie is a terrible designer because of her 5k sequin glued Dakar denim jacket but MB is the greatest of them all and saving CHANEL from irrelevant with his 10k sequined slogan shirt? That's double standard and you know that and I don't like this.

 

[Grets]

Lol I live for that mother-daugher duo expressing their dislike for Blazy's work online. Good for them!

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

But I’m sure, and maybe people will quote me if it don’t happen, that Chanel by Blazy will be a commercial success.

Chanel was a bit on an island by itself since Virginie took over. Now it’s part of the conversation again and people are paying attention.

I also think that Chanel by Blazy is going to be a commercial success.
Let's be honest, maybe it is not what we were dreaming but it is not that bad neither.

The fact that Chanel is part of the fashion conversation is what I find a pity.
The magic of Chanel was to always be there and at the same time to be outside.
We are talking about Métiers d'arts because long ago Chanel decided to display all the different techniques and savoir-faire of their maisons.
Yet this show doesn't feel at all like a celebration of the craftmanship.

It feels like just another show by someone who took notes about Demna's gritty decors for his first Vetements shows (the chinese restaurant in Belleville, the gay club), of someone who payed attention to Raf's & Sterling Ruby dresses for Dior, of someone who "is" in the conversation, and thus, competing with Balenciaga, Dior, Saint Laurent...
Whereas the allure of Chanel was always to be beyond that, to be in its own island.
Right now only Hermès possesses that kind of magic.

But yes, it will sell, Chanel is a powerful machine, better oiled than Gucci or Dior.
I always said: if you are stupid, you cannot work at Chanel.
There are other places for incompetent people.

 

[Avonlea]

I don't know. I agree with some of her points, but the article, or whatever you call that, felt a bit like a tirade from someone who forgot to take their meds. The formula 1 recruitment part was ridiculous. I don't like anything that Blazy has done so far, but isn't it too early to already say it's a complete failure?

 

[PDFSD]

Lol I live for that mother-daugher duo expressing their dislike for Blazy's work online. Good for them!

but a well dissected review of the show and easy for tik tok viewers to understand.

it was well balanced because they pointed out also likes ..whatever was left to like

in a unsure anxious world beauty and clarity (decisiveness in direction) wins..... its a tale old as time.

customers are suffering from decision fatigue, is the mental exhaustion and impaired judgment from making too many choices, leading to poorer decisions, procrastination, or impulsivity as cognitive resources deplete

its the wrong time to provide creative chaos as a luxury statement or value

people like blazy misake progress or novelty with more is more

 

[PDFSD]

I don't know. I agree with some of her points, but that article, or whatever you call that, felt a bit like a tirade from someone who forgot to take their meds. The formula 1 recruitment part was ridiculous. I don't like anything that Blazy has done so far, but isn't it too early to already say it's a complete failure?

It's in concept of what metrics we should choose people to do a job at such high standard its not literal ..its to open your mid to think further than what you know the news letter is for this .

Its about prediction of where things lead to if xyz is not handled correctly

her job is analysing based on past and current data points.

when your looking at a brand strategy you don't wait 3 years to say if it done well that would be a historian you analysing in real time as the value of the feedback is in it being about now and coming 6 months and long term consequences.

That's what the job is for to advise other ceo or companies that hire these people for insight and advice.

I think one thing i see so often here or online as confusion: this idea of reviewing a collection (for what you want to wear or like as fan) versus analysing a brand's direction as a complete business.
its not the same thing.

 

[PDFSD]

I also think that Chanel by Blazy is going to be a commercial success.
Let's be honest, maybe it is not what we were dreaming but it is not that bad neither.

The fact that Chanel is part of the fashion conversation is what I find a pity.
The magic of Chanel was to always be there and at the same time to be outside.
We are talking about Métiers d'arts because long ago Chanel decided to display all the different techniques and savoir-faire of their maisons.
Yet this show doesn't feel at all like a celebration of the craftmanship.

It feels like just another show by someone who took notes about Demna's gritty decors for his first Vetements shows (the chinese restaurant in Belleville, the gay club), of someone who payed attention to Raf's & Sterling Ruby dresses for Dior, of someone who "is" in the conversation, and thus, competing with Balenciaga, Dior, Saint Laurent...
Whereas the allure of Chanel was always to be beyond that, to be in its own island.
Right now only Hermès possesses that kind of magic.

But yes, it will sell, Chanel is a powerful machine, better oiled than Gucci or Dior.
I always said: if you are stupid, you cannot work at Chanel.
There are other places for incompetent people.

I feel Chanel is more of a club a cult one and i am fine with it we have so many brands looking like other brands already.
i disagree Chanel was out of the conversation it had ups and downs, nonetheless it was for a long time a benchmark because like Hermes they did things in there own way. and are always copied not only product but also in brand strategies.

Chanel was a bit on an island by itself since Virginie took over, funny enough was there most profitable years more than KL´s , so some of it by operating a bit out and a league of its own is beneficial they just needed someone to modernize and twist it abit not bulldoze it to the ground.

In general i don't get this human behavior of everyone has to be invited to everything, especially for brands with stylistic expressions that does not fit you etc , if before Chanel was not for you why care to be part of it now when you never paid into there 18 billion dollar a year business.

Its just feels forced this new rehaul of Chanel , yes Chanel is big but it won't be the first time the tumble , the years that they openly share turnover numbers is not so long the past bad moments are private numbers we can only speculate which the company does not deny either.

If they don't adapt i don't see how the Blazy story will work , in 3 years of Blazy at BV it seem many people are not willing to face the fact that he added little sales revenue growth despite being a darling and all the hype of being part of the conversation.
I said it before and in this article its stated as well lee added more growth than Blazy just a quick comparison while Alessandro tripled the Gucci growth almost look at what his Valentino is doing!!! struggling badly.