Start spreading the news: Matthieu Blazy wants “to be a part of it / New York, New York” and of Chanel too. For the Maison’s Métiers d’Art 2026 collection debuted on Dec. 2, 2025, Blazy combined Parisian sophistication with New York grit. What he created was not just a runway show, but a story of a city and its people told through garments that felt lived in and conscious.
The show began where all New Yorkers are familiar with: the underground subway station. Models arrived by subway train at an out-of-service station in Manhattan. Right away, signaling Blazy’s intent that this wasn’t about gloss but rather about the modern New York experience.
Bhavitha Mandava opened the show, which proved to be a remarkable moment for the 25-year-old model from Hyderabad, India. She moved to the U.S. to study at New York University and was scouted for modeling in, get ready, a subway station. For her opening, she walked down the stairs of the abandoned station turned runway, making what was once a simple “subway commute” into an inspiring high-fashion moment.
The show acted like a living archive by pulling inspiration from both Chanel’s history and the city’s cultural narratives. Flapper dresses were nods to the roaring 1920s of New York that once defined American modernity.
Mazy included a reference to a 1970s journalist to highlight the city’s long-standing role as a global hub and to emphasize an era when rising crime and urban decay were reshaping the city.
2024 model of the year, Alex Consani’s pin-striped suit referenced Frank Sinatra and the glamour of old school Manhattan. The suit also referenced the house’s founder, Coco Chanel’s, own legacy of gender fluid fashion into the present time. It served as a reminder that no matter how different everyone may look, no one looks out of place in the city’s diverse mix of personalities and subcultures.
Diana Vreeland’s legacy was referenced as a homage to the legendary editor who shaped fashion from her offices at both Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Andy Warhol’s iconic silver wig was cheekily included, wedging humor into the show while grounding it in an art scene he helped define. The era of Jackie Kennedy’s years as a “working woman” in New York was also quietly threaded in to reinforce that the city has long been seen as an opportunity for self-reinvention.
There were also many red apples glimmering throughout the collection in reference to the city being dubbed “The Big Apple.” Many touches of leopard print recalled both Chanel’s archival signatures and the women — Jackie Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Barbra Streisand — who made the print an essential of uptown New York. The leopard print motif also includes how the city is dubbed a “concrete jungle” for how it turns on one’s survival mode and can feel overwhelming to navigate.
The show functioned as more than a love letter to the city. It seemed to be a narrative that merged Chanel’s wearable history with the raw truth of life in New York City. Rather than offering a single version of what a “Chanel woman” in the city might look like, the show assembled an entire cast of past icons, fictional characters, art legends and everyday New Yorkers. It proved that in this city and in this fashion house, variation and change have always been the point. With New York as the overall theme for the show and his collection, Blazy was able to utilize the city in a way that was not cliché. He gave the city life with character-driven looks that highlighted something from each decade, even if fictional.
There was a playful surprise with a look inspired by the superhero “Superman” and his human identity, Clark Kent. Where the “S” usually is on Superman’s suit, there was instead the Chanel logo. The look dispersed a symbol of hope into the mix and was also a moment that felt nostalgic. Relating to his own appreciation for comic book art, Blazy paid homage to a character tied to New York City that generations of New Yorkers grew up with. There are other cartoonish features of Tony the Tiger and Marsupilami to evoke both childhood bedrooms and Blazy’s own history of artistry at Bottega.
Blazy even represented New York City tourists with the inclusion of one of the most famous tourist souvenirs: the “I ♥️ NY” white t-shirt. There were also playful purses in the shapes of peanuts, squirrels, giraffes and apples. They were the high-fashion versions of gimmicky merchandise often sold in tourist shops.
The collection held creativity that was fun and fresh. The eccentricity wasn’t performative. It was New York. It’s the kind that makes total sense in a place where no one looks twice at someone’s outfit because everyone is too busy living their own lives, but are all unified in their daily commute. To some people, large cities are known for being lonely and Blazy was even able to convey this feeling.
One of the most striking looks was a bold red, white and blue ensemble that felt very strikingly patriotic. Yes, it was an echo of American iconography, but it was also a quiet homage to the city’s collective memory and history. In the textured plaid fabric, Blazy wove in a subtle tribute to 9/11, including everything that makes New York City itself. It also serves as an example on how fashion can honor without exploiting.
In the end, Blazy created a timeline. The many stages of New York’s fashion evolution made an appearance and nothing felt random. Scattered throughout the collection were tiny ladybug motifs. They were perched on necklaces, embroidered into skirts and hidden like easter eggs. Yes, ladybugs are the official state bug of New York and are a symbol of luck, but are also a reminder that to live in New York City is lucky, but if you understand the city then you are even luckier. Blazy captured the romance and beauty of New York with a whimsical skirt that held the city’s skyline. The skirt portrayed the density of the city’s buildings in the way its layers sparkled and draped around the model’s legs. The way the skirt moved with the model’s pace captured how a city that never sleeps is always awake and active.
Chanel’s Métiers d’Art 2026 was visual storytelling on another level. With designs and a setting so immersive, Blazy and the models featured in the show were able to successfully cultivate a narrative about the history of art, fashion and Chanel in New York City. It seems that Blazy really wasn’t trying to dress the city up but instead spoke to it in texture, humor, nostalgia, community and history. By the end, the objective was clear that this is Chanel’s ambitious embracing of a city that has never been afraid to embrace itself.