Why Birds Were the Focus of Matthieu Blazy’s First Chanel Haute Couture Collection
Full focus may have been on the models (and the clothes), but is there a deeper meaning?
The very essence of Haute Couture is, traditionally, to focus wholly on the clothes. It’s the moment when ultra-luxury fashion houses get to showcase their design prowess, atelier expertise and boundless imagination—crafting exquisitely exclusive pieces destined for private clients and celebrity red carpets alike. And yet, for Matthieu Blazy’s first Chanel haute couture show, it wasn’t solely about the garments themselves, but the women who wear them, fuelling both the inspiration and the execution of the collection.
“Haute Couture is the very soul of Chanel—it is the foundation and the full expression of the House,” says Blazy in the show notes. “These are clothes that are as much about the wearer as the designer. It’s the clothes worn that give them a true story; their own story and an emotional resonance, giving women a canvas to tell their own story.”
The narrative in question? One of metamorphosis—with an unexpected, focus on birds. Yes, birds. Celebrity guests including Dua Lipa, Anya Taylor-Joy, Penélope Cruz, A$AP Rocky and Tilda Swinton looked on in previous Blazy-era Chanel designs, seated within a whimsical, supersized mushroom field.
“In this emotional exchange between maker and wearer, the very essence of Haute Couture is the body and the soul,” continue the show notes. Opening looks crafted from sheer fabrics, pastel hues and classic Chanel structures—including a traditional suit—made that emphasis on the wearer immediately apparent. “Revealed through lightness, movement and self-expression, the woman who wears the clothes is celebrated, each in her distinct individuality,” the notes add.
Seeing those familiar Chanel cuts rendered in such light, translucent forms is described as appearing “almost as a memory of Chanel’s layered histories, entwined with the wearer’s own; a delicate embroidered love letter, a bottle of N°5, a red lipstick… tokens and emotional artefacts appear, in silk mousseline or as jewellery”. From here, the shift begins—as both the collection, and the women within it, start to transform into birds.
As the show notes continue, “a multiplicity of birds is imagined, each singular in shape and form, realised through the rituals of the Haute Couture flou and tailleur ateliers, together with the artisans of fabric making, embroidery, and pleating at le19M.”
Think feather-printed shirting and skirt sets, plume-adorned tailoring and an eye-catching, feather-covered jacket as the pièce de résistance of the catwalk, alongside what the House dubs “raven black looks” showcasing the “supreme cutting skills of the tailleur and their flow in the flou”.
And if you’re wondering: why birds? “Here, birds are seen as ultimate symbols of freedom—or simply as themselves. The natural world metamorphosed, or merely celebrated.”
Yet I can’t help but wonder whether we’re only observing Blazy’s portrayal of his customers grasping at freedom—perhaps even their truest selves—or if we’re witnessing something more personal. The moment Blazy himself begins to stretch his wings: a true celebration of Chanel’s couture heritage before embarking on his own transformation of the house, a metamorphosis unfolding in real time before our eyes.
