The fashion industry is waiting with baited breath to see what Chanel’s new artistic director Matthieu Blazy will do atop one of luxury’s most famous brands. But with his debut not set to show until next season, guests gathered at the Grand Palais on the last day of Paris Fashion Week for one last Chanel studio-designed collection.
The house described the AW25 line as ‘a theatre of dreamlike illusions’; fabrics and textures weren’t quite what they first seemed on first glance, with chiffon jeans and tweed-looking silks making you look twice.
The final day of Paris Fashion Week began, as always, with Chanel. After a very long month of shows, editors and influencers gathered at the Grand Palais to see the final ready-to-wear collection from the house before new creative director Matthieu Blazy arrives (he is said to be starting next month, and will present his first collection for the house in October).
In the meantime, the autumn/winter 2025 collection was created by the in-house studio team who, this season, revisited the house signatures – the bow, the ribbon, the pearl and the flower, while nodding to the world of fairytales, and playing with proportion.
The likes of Naomi Campbell, Tyla and Dakota Fanning sat front row, while a number of the models of the moment took to the catwalk.
Theme and inspiration
Autumn/winter 2025 was a celebration of the motifs that make Chanel what is is. The team looked to revisit and reinvent the bow, the ribbon, the pearl and the flower, covering the collection in these touches, some supersized and exaggerated to huge effect.
“Never far from the universe of fairytales, the AW25 ready-to-wear collection conjures up a world of mastery and imagination, all while rendering the house codes sublime,” the show notes read.
We saw giant pussybows on blouses and dresses, ruffled collars, enormous bows and 3D flowers adorned on jackets, and super long layered pearl necklaces. It was also a lesson in mixing dress codes – pretty sheer dresses were worn over office-appropriate tailoring, exaggerated accessories and tulle overlays gave elevated evening touches to the classic tweed suits while cosy outerwear was dressed up with bows.
Hero pieces
The designs with exaggerated bows are bound to be the winners of this collection – particular favourites include the cosy black jumper dress and silky slips adorned with ruffles.
The setting
As always, the Chanel show took place in the Grand Palais, which this season featured a slightly more toned-down setting, one which perfectly matched the mood of the collection. The set featured an installation designed by scenographer Willo Perron who created a giant black ribbon as a backdrop which mirrored the elements of the collection that had played on scales of size, length and proportion.
Who was there?
Naomi Campbell, Tyla, Jessica Alba, Simone Ashley, Camila Cabello and Dakota Fanning were among the names to sit on the front row, wrapping up a very glamorous month of shows.
