In the limbo between creative directors, while we wait for Matthieu Blazy to take his rightful spot at Chanel, the house’s atelier has stepped up to design its past few collections, and ngl they have us asking: does fashion really need creative directors? Because they seem to have it down.
While we’re obviously as ready as the next person for Blazy’s debut, which is hyped to be the biggest moment on this September’s fashion calendar, Chanel’s atelier has proved over and over again – this is the seventh collection they’ve headed up with no CD – that it’s capable of dropping breathtaking collections on its own.
The house’s takeover of the newly renovated Grand Palais this morning for its SS25/26 Haute Couture show was packed with archive references that hark back to the prestige of Coco Chanel’s era, and precise, opulent details that are a reminder of how Chanel’s stayed winning ever since.
The collection utilised a muted palette, seen both on the runway and in the carpeted show space itself, which placed an emphasis on the intricacy of its craftmanship and the finer details of its designs. Sacrificing colour for a limited palette of beige, ecru, white, and black, Chanel’s atelier relied heavily on texture to add intrigue to each look. From jackets adorned with feathers, paired with trousers embroidered by the legendary Maison Lesage, to soft, figure hugging silk that juxtaposed with the sheen of latex gloves, texture was rife on Chanel’s runway.
The show also made reference to Coco Chanel as a “shepherdess,” a nickname she was given by her biographer Louise de Vilmorin, and thus was appropriately heavy on tweed - a feature we all know Chanel well for. The atelier also referenced wheat, a symbol of prosperity, growth, and good fortune, with a gold painted wheat stalk placed on each seat, and the final bridal look carrying a golden wheatsheaf in her hand.
While the past seven collections from Chanel’s atelier have been revealed in a kind of blank space between creative directors, they have far from lacked any of the creativity or personality that we know the brand for. If it's growth and good fortune that Chanel's aiming for rn, it certainly hasn't seen a shortage of either since Virginie Viard stepped down, and we know it'll only see more of both when Matthieu Blazy steps in.
Featured image via Chanel©
More on Culted
See: Schiaparelli plays fast and loose with proportions at FW25
