The spirit of freedom in Biarritz inspires Matthieu Blazy’s first Chanel Cruise collection The Creative Director celebrates the House’s seaside origins

For his very first Cruise collection for Chanel, Matthieu Blazy draws inspiration from Biarritz, the Atlantic coastal town where Gabrielle Chanel opened her couture house in 1915. Captured on the sands of the Grande Plage by photographer Alec Soth and director Stuart Winecoff, the campaign seamlessly pairs formal elegance with a relaxed seaside spirit. This season pays a vibrant tribute to the centenary of the legendary little black dress - reimagined here as a "revenge dress" - while playfully twisting the House's historic signatures, such as the back bow transformed into a giant handbag, or the double C, a true architectural manifesto structuring knit skirts, maxi totes, and loafers.

Free from convention, the collection composes a new coastal vocabulary where sun-bleached, salt-crisp cotton suits meet fluid overshirts and sailor-stripes reimagined with zip-up collars. Basque heritage shines through every creation with regional stripes, chili-pepper jewelry, tamarisk motifs, and a whimsical marine bestiary accenting buttons and coral-like embroideries. True to his creative audacity, the Creative Director orchestrates a masterful play on textures -supple tweeds crafted for warm climates, raffia-hemmed skirts, ultralight cashmeres, and fish-scale iridescent sequins - complemented by supple two-tone shoes.

From the sands of the Grande Plage to city avenues, this collection effortlessly blurs the lines between formal wardrobes and holiday style. By capturing the energy of Biarritz, Matthieu Blazy delivers a vibrant opening chapter for Chanel, where chic is expressed above all through effortless ease.