It’s often said that haute couture is a fairy tale. From the handful of women who can afford made-to-measure gowns costing in the six figures, to the millions watching from behind their phone screens, the dwindling art has an unrivaled power to transport and enchant.
Matthieu Blazy embraced the fantasy in his second couture show for Chanel, with a set wrapped in a giant beanstalk and psychedelic flowers. The outfits themselves were charming spinoffs of classic children’s stories like “Puss in Boots” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
Backstage after the show, the designer clutched an old leather-bound tome of fairy tales he found in the Paris apartment of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. He said he asked himself: “Is Gabrielle’s life a fairy tale as well? Did she also climb her ladder to find her golden goose?”
From that premise, Blazy continued his imaginary dialogue with the house’s founder while veering off on his own quirky tangents. A case in point: an entire mood board covered in images of sprouting beans that he and his team planted for inspiration.
They grew into the opening look, a sheer vest and skirt in rough guipure that brought to mind a magnified tweed weave. Then came vine embroidery crawling with 3D blossoms, setting the stage for a lineup dense with the flora and fauna that Blazy has made a cornerstone of his Chanel aesthetic.
Spidery flowers climbed up a lilac linen shift dress with a pleated skirt, while insect-shaped buttons nestled on a glistening black jacket speckled with poison ivy green. Outfits burst into thick organic tufts and dripped with precious baubles, but many adornments were purposely concealed.
“Chanel couture is not about the big ‘wow.’ Chanel couture is about the details,” Blazy explained. “If people think that couture is a big painting, I think maybe at Chanel, it’s more like a miniature [one] or something that feels precious, but that you can also put in your pocket.”
Some of the jackets were lined with elaborate illustrations, while others concealed mock Post-It notes in sheer silk, embroidered with “to do” lists. Many came with frayed edges, inspired by Chanel’s aggressive approach to fittings — models complained she could be vicious with a pin.
“She’s attacking the garment. She’s not pinning the sleeve, she’s ripping the sleeve off, and I was very interested in that, in the physical process of making garments,” said Blazy, tying it to his experience working on Martin Margiela’s Artisanal line. “Both are really revolutionary when it comes to the wardrobe, and the function and the fiction of the clothes.”
His skilful inclusion of personal signifiers, coupled with a sense of childlike wonder, are key to creating the powerful emotional connection that is fueling Chanelmania. Clients are sure to make a beeline for the tiny minaudières shaped like chickens or sleeping bears, and the shoes with heels sculpted like butterflies or golden eggs.
Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and president of Chanel SAS, said that beyond the emphasis on nature, which he dubbed “the ultimate luxury,” Blazy has reinjected a much-needed dose of whimsy and purpose into haute couture.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve found haute couture this exciting,” the executive confessed. “What fascinates me is the way it’s been restored to the unique positioning that sets it apart even further from ready-to-wear, and that’s also because there are newcomers to haute couture, like Matthieu, who are taking the concept literally.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s two shows at the Grand Palais, clients and their guests were invited to the haute couture salon on Rue Cambon to view a selection of Chanel’s original designs.
Her storybook ascent from a convent orphanage to world-famous couturier is the stuff of legend, but Blazy also tapped into the darker side of her personality, with looks including a tufted raffia scarecrow jacket, a magpie’s nest of gold chains, and his final look: a black off-the-shoulder dress that came after the traditional wedding gown.
“To close with that ‘revenge dress’ was the perfect summary of Chanel’s fairy tale,” he noted. “She never got married.”
