Matthieu Blazy will stand out as Coco's heir in Chanel's debut

French-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy will debut one of the fashion industry's most coveted jobs on Monday, when he sends models to Chanel for the first time.

The 41-year-old, who was named last December, will present his Spring/Summer 2026 collection at Paris Fashion Week in the clear highlight of the season, if not the year.

Tasked with leading Chanel out of the era of its legendary late supreme Karl Lagerfeld, Blazy is seen as needing to walk a delicate path between modernizing Chanel and respecting its heritage.

“If there is a house where traditions are more important than any other, it is Chanel,” Elvire von Bardeleben, fashion journalist for the French newspaper Le Monde, told AFP.

“What is expected of Matthieu Blazy is to recover style, elegance, a twist to traditions that have been overexploited lately,” he continued.

Fashion lovers have had to wait for the penultimate day of what has been a historic Paris Fashion Week to glimpse the latest creations from the former Bottega Veneta and Calvin Klein designer.

A flurry of new appointments has created a sense of generational renewal at the top of the industry, with around 10 different brands presenting collections from debuting head designers over the past week in Paris.

Northern Irish star Jonathan Anderson began his work impressively at Dior Women, Jack McCollough and Lázaro Hernández started at Loewe, while Dutch designer Duran Lantink stepped into the spotlight on Sunday for his star turn as creative head at Jean Paul Gaultier.

Italian Pierpaolo Piccioli also set a new tone at Balenciaga on Saturday after moving to the Paris-based Spanish brand to replace Georgian maverick Demna, who has been tasked with reviving Gucci.

The luxury industry hopes the restructuring will help boost sagging sales caused by a slowdown in China, U.S. tariffs and a widespread sense of economic uncertainty.

Chanel, the world's second-largest luxury brand by sales, reported a 30 percent drop in operating profit in 2024 to $4.48 billion, compared with the previous year, while revenue fell 4.3 percent during the same period.

Monday's exhibition will take place at 18:00 GMT under the domed glass ceiling of the spectacular Grand Palais exhibition space, near the Champs-Elysées, one of the brand's favorite locations. Blazy has revealed almost nothing, except for a few outfits revealed on the red carpets of recent film and television events.

The invitation, which featured a pendant in the shape of the Chanel house, was very classic, while a black and white photo posted on Instagram about the collection showed a short-haired brunette reminiscent of the brand's founder, Coco Chanel.

“At Chanel, there are totems that are not touched,” Pierre Groppo, chief fashion editor of Vanity Fair magazine in France, told AFP. “But you can reinvent them.” Blazy is only the fourth creative director in Chanel's history after Coco, Lagerfeld and her immediate predecessor, Virginie Viard.

Blazy earned wide praise for his work as chief creative officer at Bottega Veneta for three years, helping to modernize the look of the classic Italian leather goods house, making it more fun and edgy.

She also oversaw the launch of its first high-end fragrances and jewelry, and updated the brand's classic “intrecciato” woven patterns with successful bags like Kalimero, Andiamo and Sardine. One question you will probably face at some point is whether you would support a Chanel menswear range for the first time.

For now, all eyes will be on Monday's teams and the privileged ones, a constellation of personalities, it is certain, who got the best seats in the French capital.