There’s a particular kind of mythology that exists around the CHANEL woman. She is polished, poised, always in control. But for Cruise 2026, Matthieu Blazy is shifting that narrative — not by rewriting it, but by returning to where it first loosened its grip, in Biarritz.

It was on the Basque coast that Gabrielle Chanel opened her couture house in 1915, dismantling the rigid codes of Parisian dressing in the process. More than a century later, Blazy is using that same landscape as both a backdrop and a blueprint, framing his first Cruise collection for the house through the lens of liberation.

Titled Sous le salon la plage (which translates to 'beneath the salon, the beach'), the collection sat between two worlds: the structure of the salon and the ease of the shoreline. It’s a space where hierarchy dissolves, and workwear, leisurewear and eveningwear can co-exist in a single wardrobe.

On the runway, that idea played out first with a simple, mid-length black shift dress — arguably Chanel's most famous silhouette. Blazy revisited the original design, updating it for now with simple adjustments. The bow that once sat on the back of the dress, for example, was reimagined as an oversized clutch bag.

From there, the collection expanded into fluid silk foulard dresses that knotted and layered like scarves, falling into uneven, handkerchief hems that moved easily with the body. Tweed was similarly relaxed, softened in both structure and tone, while tailoring in washed cotton canvas removed any sense of rigidity.

As has become expected from Blazy's CHANEL, there was no shortage of playfulness, joy and colour in the collection. This was perhaps most overt in the mermaid motif, which found expression in beaded dresses that shimmered with fish-scale paillettes, catching the light as models moved, or shell details and aquatic textures that unexpectedly punctuated more simple looks. And among the cast of models bringing this narrative to life were Australians Emma Balfour, Julia Nobis and Chiara Dorward, who walked the show, reinforcing the house’s ongoing relationship with an international cast.

Similarly anticipated from a collection with Blazy at the helm were instantly-covetable accessories. Massively oversized striped beach bags sat alongside more sleek leather styles, while shoes shifted from pumps (some carried rather than worn – we're at the beach after all) to thongs.