Chanel S/S 2026 Paris

[marines]

 

[Xone]

 

[Vitamine W]

I cant believe what im reading here, I tink this was a very smart collection. Easily moving the brand into a more youthful, way less restrained more casual chic Chanel world. Excellent work.

 

[Caffeine]

I am quite shocked to hear that, coming from what I always perceived to be a customer with very high standards and taste - All the time while watching the show, I was thinking that these boxy silhouettes are really nothing for petite women, Even a customer like Daphne Guinness with her crazy high platforms would have a hard time finding anything here that would make her look great - Not that she would like it anyway…

I thoroughly believe the appeal of Chanel (not only Karl’s) has been the timeless appeal that made it possible (and desirable) for women to wear a jacket passed-down from their mothers or grandmothers.

Chanel stood for decades as this unquestioned institution of taste and class, thanks to the fact that the straight lines with narrow shoulders of her tweed suits looked good on most women - By contrast, we are looking here at clothes that are (much like his Bottega Veneta) very 'of the moment' - the boxy cut, the awkward lengths, the lack of refinement.

Ah, I called them the "banana republic" outfits ;-)
BR is a GAP brand...and the fit is like that suit you saw above...

I liked the dresses though. I don't have the occasion to wear them, but they are pretty and some flattering.

 

[YohjiAddict]

I enjoyed the collection quite a lot, I adore drop waists and his version of the Chanel suit reminds me of the ones Yohji did for S/S 1997 — one of my favorites of his.

More importantly, he succeeded where it was most crucial: showing people that Chanel doesn’t have to be Lagerfeld’s Chanel. In a way Virginie lent him a hand with that, she made such bad use of the formula passed down to her that the fashion public couldn’t do anything other than growing SICK of it.

It’s almost funny how jarring it was at first to see those suits walking out, they are still tweed and have gilded buttons, but they are quite a departure from Karl’s preferred cut and fit, which at a house as firmly established as Chanel felt almost radical.

One downside though is that the collection feels a bit disjointed as it moves from one section to the other. I’m also not very fond of the pieces with stripes which reminded me too much of Prada S/S 2016.

 

[Caffeine]

Viscose is not synthetic as polyester, is not plastic, it's from plants,cellulose artificially reworked, and is way more breathable and fresh than silk so it could make sense if you want to wear tweed in summer

I do have a viscose dress from Prada. I really prefer silk any day.
Viscose also doesn't age as well vs. Silk. My 20 year old silk Fendi skirt still looks new after a wash. Not the viscose.
Don't let the suits lie to us.

 

[Caffeine]

I didn’t even realized that the first look was in tweed too.
He really explored the industrial and artisanal capacities regarding the treatment of tweed.

The last time Karl used such a « traditional » tweed was surely pre-2008.

It was not about accessories even if for me, the bag of the show was the chevron in multicolors. That’s the bag I want.

I think Dior had more retail friendly accessories. But he had to do everything Chanel by the book in some aspects.

Synthetic fabrics, when done in the highest level of quality and expertise is great.
Chanel has used synthetic fabrics for years, first under the impulsion of Karl who was always pushing for fabrics development.

That’s also part of fashion let’s be honest. The YSL collection was almost entirely made out of nylon this season. We saw what ballgowns in nylon looks like.

I don’t subscribe to the supremacy of 100% natural fabrics. When it’s well done, it’s worth it.

Because then, you have brands like MiuMiu that can hide behind their use of cotton to sell 2K workwear stuff.

Chanel has used viscose as part of tweed, but I don't recall any pieces with 100% viscose.
When it comes to poly, there has been research that it releases microplastic to our skin. I have an LV dress from a recent runway and it doesn't breathe.
But in all cases, I have not seen 100% viscose outperforming natural material in any case - unless it's for sports. In my wardrobe anyway. In fact, if nature gifts us certain material, why do we want to avoid it?

 

[liberty33r1b]

omg it's even worse up close everything looks cheap and trashy! good luck selling it to a Chanel customer

 

[Squizree]

Gorgeous fabrics, ruined by cheap everything else.

That's literally all it is for me. It's a rocky start. On one hand I wanna say "He's still young etc etc" but on the other hand it's assumed you're already a master if you're at Chanel.

 

[Nimsay]

i absolutely never wear blends. Hedi almost never does blends either.

 

[Wolkfolk]

Maybe I am biased because of the stunning set, maybe I am biased because of the fantastic soundtrack, maybe I am biased because it is actually clothes that you want to look at and a show one wants to watch after all the appalling collections by Viard. Or the bar is so low that the tiny bit of effort feels like a pulse.

IMO it feels like Chanel without looking like Chanel at first sight (unlike Viard’s Chanel which looked so much like what Chanel should be without feeling at all like it) which was we need. Ofc he has certain tropes which are not needed and a bit too affected. And he should not be let near feathers any time soon!

But it feels fresh and it’s very désirable!! i love all the details, I love the use of colors, fantastic textures too. All the brilliant use of the house codes. For the ones saying it’s not Chanel or it is too predictable. I reckon the details very much prove otherwise.
It was also so amazingly orchestrated. THAT was A SHOW!!! Flawless production thru and thru. Even though the runway was a tad too long.. I know it’s the galaxy but still.

Great tailoring as well, you could tell the models felt really good in the clothes. Many many stunning pieces. Like the white satin gown, which m is probably my favorite look of the season (with the green tassel skirt at Alaïa)

There are some glitches for sure.. I’m not a mega fan of the footwear. Even though I like the idea of revisiting vintage models, I found them a bit meh.. Some bags worked but others didn’t. Like i understand the intention behind the deconstructed 2.55 but not sure I liked it. However, I am glad to also see him proposing new stuff and not just relying on best sellers.

The jewelry was weak though. There’s clearly some work needed in the accesories department but still that was overall a great debut! And I am sure clothes + accessories will fly off the shelves.

It completely repositions Chanel at the forefront of the fashion conversation, after the lackluster tenure by Virginie Viard. All with a sense of "ease". It doesn’t feel to me, that he tried to make a moment, yet still did! Of course it was grandiose but that’s because he has the budget and the expertise of a brand that throws the most grandiose shows. I never understood why Viard shows always felt like recession indicator..

I expected his Chanel to be reminiscent of Karl’s late nineties / to early 00s (like until 2004/05.. the more "stripped down"of his years). But there was some nods to early 90s with the headpieces, the 60s with some of the buttons. Or even the 1910s with the Chanel signature.

I did not enjoy all propositions, the headpieces for example felt frivolous & silly. Yet I enjoyed how they broke a bit the tension and seriousness! He has a very different way of being silly. It’s a serious-silly lol. There’s undeniably a sense of taking himself/things a bit too seriously in his work. I felt the same with his BV. Whereas we got use to a Chanel, that for decades, could be the climax of chic but also soooo camp, cheeky and literal.

Hopefully he taps into this a bit. Or maybe not. He doesn’t really have to. This is his house now.
And he presented a language light and playful in a very poetic way. He took the helm of a house and made it feel like a home.
I’m excited to see the rest.. and how his whole vision unfolds. With this and Tom Ford, it’s hopeful signs that we are finally entering a new era of fashion. One that feels, at least, a bit more alluring.

Oh and… Awar. Forever!

 

[chiccestlavie]

I always take a pause when I see a paid shill like Alexander Fury praise anything.

 

[tricotineacetat]

omg it's even worse up close everything looks cheap and trashy! good luck selling it to a Chanel customer

Thank you for mentioning that, I thought I was the only one who saw that - Obviously from Karl, but also many others, like Nicolas Ghesquiere. The decorative touches on most of these looks are unsophisticated, ugly and heavy-handed. It’s telling of a designer who hasn’t really got an eye for refinement - One of the major aspects why vintage Chanel is considered a timeless invested.

 

[Reggie63]

Just went to BOF IG - Alex Fury is having an absolute meltdown over people not loving and getting the new Chanel. Sis is fighting absolutely everyone! I wonder how much sis got for this new social media engagement model?

 

[Caffeine]

I do see lots of viscose in the close up pictures
And the chanel jackets with only one panel on the front each side...

Suits, you won!

 

[Caffeine]

Gorgeous fabrics

I don't know...they look a bit questionable to me. Good innovation here and there, but many are zara-looking blends.
The best part is that many of the existing customers, at least here in America, will ask the tailors to alter the big shoulders. And the tailors won't be happy

 

[Creative]

Wow the garments look quite bad in those Instagram pictures.

A friend of mine asked me: what would people think if this was an offering by Carolina Herrera? He was kinda spot on. No one would’ve cared.

We like to look a little bit further because it’s MB.

 

[carla56]

I do have a viscose dress from Prada. I really prefer silk any day.
Viscose also doesn't age as well vs. Silk. My 20 year old silk Fendi skirt still looks new after a wash. Not the viscose.
Don't let the suits lie to us.

It's not te suits lol, my job is doing fabric research so I know what I'm talking about... Of course it depends which viscose and which silk the brand uses... Prada fabrics for me are terrible, being them viscose, silk, wool... a 100% cashmere from Uniqlo at 99euros is not a 100% cashmere from loro piana or brunello cucinelli...

 

[carla56]

The fabric manipulation in detail is insane! I was skeptical about him but I think he will be perfect for the brand... I just hope he uses a stronger team for the campaigns than the one he used at Bottega because this could be his most fragile part...For me he is far superior to JWA in terms of design, but he lacks the ability to build a world around his clothes. I'm also happy that while being from the school of Raf and Pieter, he is able to be frivolous and have fun, qualities that the former two definitely don't have!

 

[Caffeine]

It's not te suits lol, my job is doing fabric research so I know what I'm talking about... Of course it depends which viscose and which silk the brand uses... Prada fabrics for me are terrible, being them viscose, silk, wool... a 100% cashmere from Uniqlo at 99euros is not a 100% cashmere from loro piana or brunello cucinelli...

With due respect, this particular case is really not complicated (we're not talking about a spacesuit for NASA)
If I were asked to pay $3,000 for a basic top, and I have two choices in front of me, viscose and silk, all else equal, viscose won't even be remotely considered. Let's please not pretend that the best viscose in the world can beat silk from a user's perspective.