"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.
The show was a quiet farewell from the silent studio that have been the brains behind the last three collections, while at the same time, it was a look at the label’s exciting future.
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.
