Chanel shows a fairy-tale couture: feathered ruffs and slit tweed
A vine creeps up a heel, a clutch pretends to be a sleeping bear, and buttons turn from duckling to swan. Matthieu Blazy’s second couture collection.
Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy drew on the world of fairy tales for his second haute couture collection for the Parisian house.
The references are scattered across the show: green vines embroidered on a sheer skirt and jacket, white feathered wings on the back of a dress, an outfit made of appliquéd embroidered swans. Some read as Jack and the Beanstalk; others simply as the feeling of a picture book.
“The inner life of storybooks is transferred to the clothes themselves; a vine might creep up the heel of a shoe, a small minaudière might appear as a sleeping bear, and a series of buttons might transform from duckling to swan,” Blazy wrote in the show notes.
Front-row guests including Catherine Deneuve, Tilda Swinton, Alexa Demie and Pedro Pascal fanned themselves as models paraded through a set filled with giant flowers, wearing hats resembling birds’ nests and tweed skirts with dramatic slits.
Blazy, whose designs have reignited interest in the storied label, continued his lavish use of embroidered flowers and feathers, with dresses carrying giant red and turquoise feather ruffs and hems. Jackets featured intricate beadwork at the neckline, a motif repeated on boat-neck dresses and sheer gowns.