Chanel bids farewell with a harvest-inspired couture show before Blazy takes over

“Fashion passes; style remains,” said Gabrielle Chanel.

It’s clear that this haute couture collection embodied its founder’s ethos, presenting a subdued collection in pared-back, earthy tones.

This autumn/winter 2025-26 show was inspired by the autumn harvest – symbolic of bounty, renewal and transition.

It was the last to be designed by the Chanel Design Studio, which worked with Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard – Chanel’s former creative directors.

In October, the fashion house will begin a new cycle, when its new creative director Matthieu Blazy will debut his collection in Paris at spring/summer 2026 Fashion Week.

Sitting front row to observe this final farewell to Chanel’s Design Studio was Gracie Abrams, wearing a white tiered dress from the label’s Resort 2026 Collection, Kirsten Dunst, Keira Knightley, Sofia Coppola with her rarely-seen daughters Romy and Cosima, and Penelope Cruz.

For the show, pieces were set against a backdrop inspired by the original haute couture salons where Gabrielle Chanel first championed pared-back elegance, the collection unfolded in a palette of earthy neutrals – ecru, ivory, moss green, chocolate brown and inky black.

Wheat, a long-standing symbol of prosperity cherished by the founder herself, appeared as a recurring motif throughout – reimagined as jewelled buttons and intricate embroidery, showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship of the Chanel ateliers.

When Chanel first launched her designs in 1910, they were shockingly avant-garde, dressing women in wide-leg trousers, cardigan jackets, striped Breton tops, turbans and turtlenecks. It was, at the time, outrageous.

Today however, Chanel is considered to be the most timeless – and perhaps the ‘safest’ – of heritage labels.

But this approach isn’t a bad thing, particularly with haute couture, which is about extraordinary handwork, embroidery, feather work and the like – aspects that are innate in the biology of Chanel.

This collection remained true to its heritage, presenting iconic pieces reimagined into symbols of nature – from white bird feathers to the ears of wheat sewn to the sleeves of Chanel bouclé.

The Chanel tweed suit isn’t the easiest canon to work in – it can so easily go lumpy and stodgy. This collection neatly avoided the problem, adding fringe, fluffy feathers, tassels and rich layering.

Longer skirts and dresses flowed elegantly over knee-high boots, while leather textures brought an edge to the otherwise calm collection.

All eyes now turn to Matthieu Blazy, who will inherit the house’s storied codes and bring them into a new chapter for a budding spring collection.