Chanel Pre-Fall 2026 New York

[PDFSD]

It should have been a rat, as the collection was presented at the subway...

maybe he could not decide and that's the beauty of being not clear its verry gen z proof.
that's why he is a new genius give him 10 years , the world will be at his feet like rats or squirrels .

 

[velvetandsilk]

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?

In theory, in retail, you need three years to assess whether a given aesthetic will catch on. They are not under pressure from shareholders to make immediate profits. They should have money secured for a downturn because they have been constantly raising prices recently.
The worst thing is the shoe designs. They need to find someone better.
The bags are average, plus they copy trends from fast fashion shops, when they should be creating them.
They also need to open up to other fabric designs; these are tacky. In my opinion, they took on too many people from BV.
There are also tailoring mistakes because they make the mistake that most contemporary designers make: they transfer patterns from sportswear and men to everyday women clothing. It was interesting 20 years ago, but now it screams lack of money.

 

[velvetandsilk]

The comments about the location choice are interesting. I think they thought it would be like a real movie set. In some Asian and Scandinavian countries, car ownership is strictly regulated by the state, and even some wealthy people have to use the subway or ride a bike.

 

[Caffeine]

they transfer patterns from sportswear and men to everyday women clothing

Super interesting. Do you mind using one example? Like the oversized shirts (others also did such as Loewe)?

 

[reese06]

I don’t think Chanel needs to abandon what some people dismiss as “outdated Parisian tropes.” Those signatures.. the jacket silhouette , the lightness, the tweeds, the ease, the optimistic color, (who knew his color theory would be worse than Virginie?!) are the brand’s visual language. Modernization doesn’t have to mean erasure of what was before. What he had to add doesn’t seem to be of substance though either

And I’m sorry, but I can’t get over that squirrel bag. It’s the kind of thing a middle-American customer with a very specific taste level would buy, or worse, something her husband would think is “quirky” and gift her for the holidays. Thank god my sales associate days are over. Several of the other pieces, because they lack any pop of color or signature whimsy, could be straight from a museum gift shop. That beaded fringe poodle bag is dreadful.

Then there’s the subway. Yes, New Yorkers of all income levels, including the uber wealthy, take the subway. But there’s nuance here…the women who actually buy hoards of Chanel ready-to-wear are not typically commuting daily on the train, sweating through extreme temperatures, dodging crowds, and navigating the underground city. As my friend who worked at Jeffrey New York used to say, “You want the woman who walks in with perfectly coifed hair and flawless makeup that usually means she has a driver and a different lifestyle.” It sounds snobbish, but it reflects a very real truth: those women aren’t arriving from the subway platform. They’re arriving from controlled bubbles, and insulation from the city’s harsh elements.

Chanel is built on fantasy and world building. If they wanted a train motif, they should’ve created a Chanel train: a transformed subway car, a constructed set, something cinematic and dreamlike. Not just the MTA as is. It flattens the brand instead of elevating it.

I just don’t see how this direction can be sustainable long term. Chanel’s power is in evolution, not in Blazy pretending it’s a completely different house.

 

[jeremydante]

I loved the clothes.
The clear objective is to expand the Chanel universe beyond just bags.

I loved this collection very much, and the staging in NYC underground in the subway was fun.
Using the "Happy Days" theme song? Classic.

 

[reese06]

I loved the clothes.
The clear objective is to expand the Chanel universe beyond just bags.

I loved this collection very much, and the staging in NYC underground in the subway was fun.
Using the "Happy Days" theme song? Classic.

Can you expand on this?

Chanel already has a universe beyond just bags and even if they didn't, I fail to see and i'm genuinely curious about your POV and how this show expands the Chanel universe

 

[brandon J pierre]

 

[jeremydante]

Can you expand on this?

Chanel already has a universe beyond just bags and even if they didn't, I fail to see and i'm genuinely curious about your POV and how this show expands the Chanel universe

Sure, @reese06.
I think there was a distinct difference with Karl's Chanel to now. Chanel of the past had more exclusivity, required a certain access. And now, it feels like it is more approachable, relaxed even. The brand, in my eyes, has made a significant push to evolve its market dominance with the introduction of the beauty locations and, yes, introducing almost sub-universes within the Chanel world. To me, a person wearing Chanel fragrance or loving Chanel beauty doesn't need to be a customer of Chanel RTW. The focus on RTW in how Matthieu seems to make it even more contemporary. Making it about clothes, and it being Chanel as almost secondary. I like this, it feels new. Welcoming even.

Accessibility, making it feel more everyday, like every girl can be a Chanel girl. This is a new lens on luxury, it's about style and not about the logo, more about quality. That's my sense. Im sure I could keep writing but it's more of an energy I feel from it too. It's about making Chanel less obvious, which is more luxurious, in the vein of 'if you know, you know' rather than a big gold CC slapped across your waistline or an obvious chainlink detail; it's about the core of style through careful choices.

 

[Caffeine]

Their prices are not accessible though. And the new clothes don't look luxurious or flattering. So what do they offer to bring people to spend $8k on a basic jacket?
The chainlink is never visible. It is always inside a jacket.
I think that this new direction has sent traditional customers away to other brands. The question is can they find enough new customers to offset. If you own the Karl rtw you will be appalled by the quality after LN started. This is the real "if you know, you know."

 

[psychopsist]

Their prices are not accessible though. And the new clothes don't look luxurious or flattering. So what do they offer to bring people to spend $8k on a basic jacket?

^ Agreed on this much. I really don’t understand this “accessibility” angle. I’m pretty sure there will be no increase of average New Yorkers in (real) Chanel… luxury designer fashion is fundamentally inaccessible to the common person based on its pricing. Maybe they’re aiming for younger(still wealthy) customers more media buzz, but I wouldn’t call that increasing accessibility.

The double C is also quite present in this show. The earrings in looks 2,4, etc; the buttons look 8,14,16; the pocket of 19, clasp of 23, and so on throughout the whole thing. Which Karl did occasionally too, but definitely not every show or with any kind of fixation. So the narrative of Blazy liberating Chanel from the logo seems misinformed to me. He actually called the CC one of the inspiration for his debut(what if it’s for Coco-Capel? What if it’s for Charvet?)

 

[LadyJunon]

I think that this new direction has sent traditional customers away to other brands.

Small question: Where though?

 

[tricotineacetat]

Small question: Where though?

I would like to know that, too, since I wouldn’t know of a brand with the right mix of classicism/timelessness/excellence that does not fall into the already beaten to death path The Row and others have already taken.

Haider's Tom Ford would be my personal pick.