Matthieu Blazy Is an Empath Bringing Spirit and Joy to Chanel Spring 2026

Matthieu Blazy's Chanel Spring 2026 Celebration in Vogue December by Raf Pavarotti

Being totally neutral in their excitement about the maiden voyage shows for so many new designers at luxury houses, American Vogue did give expanded pages to Matthieu Blazy’s Spring 2026 Chanel debut. It’s probably because fashion hasn’t seen this many smiling models sharing the spotlight — like ever?

By contrast, with last night’s ‘The Debutants’ — where no one wears even a smirk — joy abounds in the house of Chanel, and it’s contagious. With the growing global sisterhood feeling under attack on multiple fronts — and especially in America — getting kicked out of one brand probably creates a new opportunity ‘down the street’ we would say in New York.

Mathew Blazy was waiting with wide open arms — and what could we do but adore him for the gesture.

The international model lineup in Vogue’s Chanel story includes Abény Nhial, Achol Ayor, Aditsa Berzenia, Awar Odhiang, Bhoomi Yadav, Charlotte Boggia, Dru Campbell, Feng Jiao Long, Luiza Perote and Zaya Guarani, styled by Amanda Harlech in images by Rafael Pavarotti [IG]. / Hair by Karim Belghiran; makeup by Ammy Drammeh

Matthieu Blazy Is an Empath

I’ll be honest that Chanel meant nothing to me until I read and wrote about about Coco Chanel’s lover Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel, their decade-long love affair and its tragic ending. The inferno of Capel’s Christmas time car crash happened on a road many of us have driven in our south of France, fashion-exploring lives.

Like me, Matthieu Blazy didn’t fully understand the significance of Capel’s impact on Chanel’s life either. But once he understood the story and learned about Capel’s love of Charvet shirts, Blazy created a monument to their love affair of a very different kind.

Blazy is an empath; hands down. AOC has written about his leadership style, mixed with his creative curiosity, and prior overt gestures to get the recognition for the women in his Bottega Veneta atelier that they deserved.

A certain circle of ladies — luxury clients — quietly process all these small gestures into our collective memory, weaving our impression of a designer’s values and how s[he] operates in the world at large. Many women luxury clients do not fit this mold.

But ever so quietly — and reliably with increasingly large numbers of women — the designer’s spirit imprint on a brand matters. His or her values spill over onto the client woman wearing the clothes — if you consider that clothes have functioned as totems for thousands of years.