CHANEL returns to Biarritz for the Cruise 2026/27 show, marking a direct link to the place where Gabrielle Chanel opened her tailoring house in 1915. The presentation introduces Matthew Blazey as he unveils his first Cruise collection for House. The choice of location links the current moment to a formative period in CHANEL’s history, when Biarritz served as the setting where the first collections were shaped.
Gabrielle Chanel chose Biarritz as a departure from Paris, creating a space that brought together boutiques, ateliers, salons and a private apartment. This structure anticipated the model later developed in the Rue Cambon. After working as a milliner in Paris, Deauville and Monte Carlo, she used the Basque coast to import clothes that changed the direction of her practice. The first collections presented there laid the foundations of what would become the CHANEL style.
The 2026/27 Cruise show returns to this point of origin with focused intent. The presentation will take place on April 28 at 18:30 Paris time. By staging the show in Biarritz, House pays attention to the location where its early development unfolded, connecting the current collection to the circumstances that shaped its inception.
Early previews suggest a setup that departs from a conventional runway format. Teaser material introduces a coastal setting, shifting the visual direction towards the ocean. A black and white directed film Julien Martinez Leclerc sets that tone through a sequence that characterizes the model Noor Khan and a dancer Kirill Sokolovsky. The narrative concludes with a transformation into a mermaid and a dive into the sea, establishing an aquatic reference that informs the presentation.
The seaside setting reflects the environment that influenced Gabrielle Chanel during her stay in Biarritz. The Atlantic coast provided a context where he developed designs defined by movement and reduced structure, including silhouettes that moved away from the corset.
The show will take place at the Villa de Larralde, a location associated with the period when Chanel began to introduce sportswear into its collections. This return contains a clear reference to the site where these ideas first appeared. Under the direction of Matthieu Blazy, the Cruise 2026/27 collection leads to a new interpretation of these references. The preview material suggests a move towards forms that extend beyond direct archival reference, introducing elements drawn from mythological imagery.
