Chanel S/S 2026 Paris

[Creative]

What I think is lost in many of the critiques about this collection — that it’s “not Chanel enough” or “too Bottega” — is the fact that this is a runway collection, created primarily for brand image and to communicate that there’s, indeed, a breath of fresh air being blown into Chanel. Yes, some of it will be produced in limited quantities and sold at insane prices, but even then, it’s meant for a very specific and small group of buyers.

No one has reported that Chanel’s more conservative, quintessential products — the classic tweed jackets, flap bags, jewelry, and their generally safe (if somewhat boring) shoe line — are being discontinued. Those will likely remain the commercial backbone of the house when it comes to the fashion department. Chanel will still be Chanel — we can be fairly sure of that.

Even the most conservative clients need to be reminded that Chanel is still THE house to go to — one that is both fashionable and exudes a certain savoir faire. In that sense, I think Mathieu was largely successful. The show created a strong halo effect over all the other product categories that weren’t even part of the runway presentation. The press and social media response to this show were overwhelmingly positive and practically everywhere so mission accomplished, I'd say.

When I reviewed the close-up images, I struggled to understand the “crumbled” bags. I realize there’s wiring inside that allows you to mold them as you like, but the concept — such a bit of sacrilege to the classic Chanel bag — feels more Demna than Chanel to me. Perhaps a bridge too far.

Overall, in the bags and shoes department, there wasn’t much that felt particularly exciting in this collection. The bigger, grained-leather bags were also a miss. This part — while I loved most of the RTW — is quite puzzling to me, because if you’re going to present a show with that many looks and bags, they’d better be exciting.

There's absolutely room for improvement but this is a very strong start. I'm curious about the art direction and visuals moving forward. And Couture in January should be very exciting.

You are right tbh. And I believe a huge part of the success is thanks to his personality. He seems adorable and people like that, they are biased and they buy into it even if it’s not something groundbreaking.

I do think Chanel bags are already trendy and desirable again after this show.

The 2.55 is my all time fave, but to me it felt cheap during the last 10 years. Now Chanel is kinda chic again and I could totally see classy people buying their bags again. Although his new Chanel bags have been terrible so far (the suede ones are better), but at least they are not Dubai insta model prosti*te looking anymore, which is good.

Tbh, I think MB has been the best decision they could have taken, even if I’m not too fond on him and his fashion. There has been no other CD that has been so crazily hyped in the first collection since I’ve been following fashion (and I registered here in 2007 👹).

Social Media is so crazy about it (okay, most of them know nothing about fashion and have the depth of a pone), journalists are so excited… when was the last time someone was this kind of hype? I can’t recall.

I wonder what our beloved PDF thinks about it. I miss her/him so much. Didn’t know you could miss someone from a forum but the void she/he left is incredible!

 

[Caffeine]

The Charvet collab is still a cheap trick imho. Chanel would have been perfectly capable of producing their own shirts.
Beside, I often had troubles with the Charvet shirts, definitely not the best finishing on the market.

Yea. You can do mtm Charvet for less...
Will work out great for Charvet - value!

 

[Lola701]

If Matthieu wanted to be radical, he would have went FW1998 on us. It was quite radical from Karl at the time and I can only imagine the reactions to that today.

Chanel is an ongoing play with it reality and our perception.

This collection may set Chanel somewhere, I don’t know what to expect for the next 15 years.

I don’t think in 1983, they imagined that Karl would have gone full bimbo a decade later to then turn nuns 5 years later.

Everytime I see someone say « it’s not Chanel » I always try to remember that their opinion is not based on Karl’s work but on a very limited era of Karl’s work: his last decade.

I remember Chanel shows without logos. One of his most famous show, the Carroussel show had no accessories. It was just the clothes and the two toned shoes.

It also says a lot about a short memory.

But I must say that I expected more people to glad that we moved on from the bubble gum, juvenile Chanel. Some people are missing that.