Matthieu Blazy’s first Chanel cruise collection brought the house back to the French seaside town where Coco Chanel helped define a new way of dressing
Chanel Resort 2027 went back to where the story began, with Matthieu Blazy bringing his first cruise collection for the house to Biarritz, the French Atlantic coastal town where Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel opened her couture house more than a century ago.
The location also carried a personal note for Blazy, who spent childhood summers in the area. Inside the Art Deco-style seafront casino, a beige carpet mimicked sand while mirrored columns and bright floral arrangements framed a collection that connected Chanel’s seaside past with a more playful, modern energy.
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Why Biarritz?
Biarritz is more than a scenic show location. In 1915, Coco Chanel arrived in the seaside resort with Arthur “Boy” Capel, during a time when artists, intellectuals, aristocrats, and wealthy European émigrés were moving through the town.
That setting shaped Chanel’s early approach to fashion. She observed how people dressed by the sea, from swimmers and sailors to local workers. Those references helped inform her use of sportswear, workwear, stripes, and easier clothes at a time when women’s fashion was still far more restrictive.
For Resort 2027, Blazy returned to that chapter with a collection that looked back at Chanel’s roots while keeping the mood light, current, and full of character.
The collection leaned into the sea
There were shell earrings, coral-like embroidery, starfish details, swim caps, striped sweaters, beach umbrella-inspired skirts, and oversized straw baskets.
The mermaid mood also came through in fish-scale textures, shimmering gowns, sea-blue accessories, and a turquoise sequined dress with a fishtail hem that closed the show. Still, the clothes did not feel like costumes. Blazy balanced fantasy with pieces people could actually imagine wearing: khaki skirt suits, striped overshirts, tweed sets, trouser suits, and knit separates.
Chanel’s classics got a fresh reading
The show opened with Blazy’s take on the little black dress, a nod to one of Chanel’s most important designs. His version had a deep V neckline, a dropped waist, white geometric stitching, and a large bow at the back reworked with a tiny clutch.
Chanel’s little black dress turns 100 this year, and Blazy framed it as more than a classic. He pointed out how Chanel borrowed from the uniforms of maids and shop girls, turning something associated with service into fashion for women with freedom and status.
The Chanel suit also appeared in more relaxed forms, from khaki versions to striped-towel-inspired sets. Formal pieces felt lighter too, with suits, dresses, and eveningwear.
Near the end of the show, newspaper-print dresses appeared as another reference to Chanel’s world. Blazy tied the idea to Gabrielle Chanel’s love of reading newspapers, a detail that added a sharper note to an otherwise beach-heavy collection.
For his first Chanel resort collection, Blazy brought the house back to Biarritz with a clear link to its history. Resort 2027 used the seaside setting, Chanel’s early codes, and the designer’s own sense of play to show where this new chapter of the house may be headed.
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