Biarritz was much more than just a summer destination for Chanel’s Cruise 2026/27 collection show. The location is steeped in history: it was there, during World War I, that Coco Chanel opened her third store and, unlike the previous ones, this was her first true Maison de Couture.
More than a business, this store symbolized Gabrielle’s liberation. It was the profits from Biarritz that allowed Coco to achieve her financial independence from Boy Capel, her financier and lover. And it is precisely this spirit of autonomy and irreverence that Chanel has revived in its new collection.
Between colors and textures, creative director Matthieu Blazy brought several references to freedom, with clothes that guarantee movement and versatility. A woman ready for any occasion, as the brand itself defined it.
However, in the accessories department, the debate was sparked.
On one hand, the soleless Heel Cap sandals emerged as a daring proposition (which, I confess, didn’t convince me), almost a conceptual exercise. Although they provoke discussion, something increasingly sought after by contemporary fashion, they end up clashing with the natural elegance that the collection builds along the runway.
The bags, in turn, reaffirmed the brand’s power. Perhaps because Chanel understands that, in the end, it is precisely the bags that sustain much of its aesthetic and commercial strength. Embroidered, in natural materials, vibrant or classic, they appeared in models that move between the irreverent and the timeless.
A show that, without a doubt, proves that, regardless of trends, Chanel’s good taste remains eternal.
