Bird on a mushroom
I saw the beauty at once
Then gone, flown away
(Anonymous haiku)
“Haute Couture is the very soul of Chanel – it is the foundation and the full expression of the House.
These are clothes that are as much about the wearer as the designer. It’s the clothes worn that give them a true story; their own story and an emotional resonance, giving women a canvas to tell their own story.” Matthieu Blazy
What defines Chanel at its core? What constitutes the House’s true essence, and how can its soul be revealed? In his first Haute Couture collection for Chanel, Matthieu Blazy, Artistic Director of Fashion Activities, revisits and distills the very heart of the Maison.
At the centre of this intimate dialogue between creator and wearer lies the body and the soul—the fundamental pillars of Haute Couture. Through weightlessness, motion and personal expression, the woman who inhabits the clothes is honoured in her individuality. The setting unfolds like a poetic tableau, at once minimal and intricate, akin to a haiku: a stylised vision of nature, a moment suspended in time, charged with emotion, designed to hold and narrate each woman’s story.
Reduced to its purest form and precisely articulated, the Chanel suit opens the show. Rendered in sheer silk mousseline in soft, nuanced tones, it feels like an echo of Chanel’s layered pasts, intertwined with the memories of its wearer. Delicate embroidered motifs—a handwritten love note, a bottle of N°5, a flash of red lipstick—emerge as emotional keepsakes, appearing in silk or transformed into jewellery.
These intimate objects are hidden and revealed: slipped into pockets, sewn into linings, dangling from the iconic chain weight, or embedded within a palimpsest of the classic bag. The inner life of the garment is turned outward, exposing its symbolism. The collection becomes a love letter—to the art of Haute Couture, to its meticulous construction, and to the written word itself.
As the narrative unfolds, transformation takes place. The women at the heart of the collection gradually take on avian forms. A diverse array of birds is imagined, each unique in silhouette and character, brought to life through the traditions of the flou and tailleur ateliers, and through the exceptional craftsmanship of textile, embroidery and pleating specialists at le19M.
From deep raven-black ensembles that showcase the precision of tailoring and the fluidity of draping, to richly coloured compositions suggesting plumage through embroidery, layering, pleats and woven textures, feathers are evoked more often than they are literally used. Birds both familiar and rare appear: the humble grey pigeon, the flamboyant pink spoonbill, the streamlined heron, the crested cockatoo.
Gathering like a parliament of ravens or a band of magpies, they assemble around towering mushrooms in an enchanted willow forest, before vanishing—released into flight. Here, birds embody freedom, or simply exist as themselves. Nature is either transformed or quietly honoured. Chanel’s enduring codes anchor the collection while simultaneously belonging to a realm of reverie. For a fleeting instant, Haute Couture invites contemplation—then it disappears.
Carried away on the wing.
