I was recently captivated by the silhouettes unveiled in Matthieu Blazy’s first Chanel Métiers d’Art 2026 collection. There are twelve looks in particular whose allure struck me instantly. Twelve silhouettes of modern women, firmly anchored in their moment, who don’t dress for performance or posturing, but embody what I like to call intellectual chic, a way of dressing that feels clear, assured, and deeply contemporary. It’s a thought I’ll explore further in a special 2026 Édit Privé.
What moved me most was the ease of these silhouettes: long hair without a sharply defined cut; a zipped mock-neck sweater layered nonchalantly over a simple white T-shirt; light wide-leg denim; black ankle boots tipped with white. For a moment, I thought I recognised my own everyday uniform, the silhouette in which I feel chic, grounded, and deeply at ease. And I suspect that was precisely the point: to offer a version of Chanel that feels more accessible in its visual vocabulary, even if the price point, as ever, remains out of reach for most. To allow any woman, in a sense, to project her own outline into the Chanel universe, to imagine pairing her daily attire with a 2.55, perhaps.
It felt refreshing, almost disarming in its simplicity. I never quite imagined seeing this kind of naturalness at Chanel, a house that for years has accustomed us to silhouettes that were more formal, more ornate, almost theatrical, often magnificent, but rarely compatible with the rhythms of everyday life. Was this intentional? A form of aesthetic gatekeeping, intentional or not, where extravagance heightened desire precisely by remaining unattainable? Or had Chanel simply lingered too long within a single stylistic canon, so much so that it began to feel repetitive, even a little out of step?
Because we must admit it: the tweed suit, the quilted bag, the strands of pearls, pieces that once felt radically modern, today evoke a more classic, traditional femininity, far from the ease and attitude of a young woman in our contemporary world. Codes change. Habits shift. And this show makes it clear that Chanel knows it. The silhouettes are more minimalist, more pared-back; the looks easier to recreate from pieces already hanging in one’s wardrobe; the attitude more relaxed; the woman more grounded, someone who slips into the New York subway wearing Chanel without ceremony.
And perhaps this is, paradoxically, the house’s true return to essence. Some will say this isn’t the Chanel we’ve come to expect, nor the Chanel of Coco’s era, and in a sense, they’re right. I would partly agree, but I’d add that this may very well be the Chanel Gabrielle would design today. Because the heart of Chanel, since 1915, has been to free women, and to offer them clothes suited to the lives they actually live.
Times change. What counted as simple and practical in 1925 no longer makes sense in 2025. And it’s precisely for this reason that Matthieu Blazy’s silhouettes feel, at their core, profoundly Chanel, a Chanel of its time. A Chanel for 2025. A Chanel for 2026. A Chanel we may have been waiting for, perhaps without quite daring to hope for it.
The Twelve Silhouettes
So, here is my analysis. And now, let me show you the twelve silhouettes I was most eager to share with you. I’ll very likely create an Édit Privé inspired by this show to help you recreate these looks. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, whether you agree with my reading, or whether the collection spoke to you in another way.
