The China Mail - Blazy takes flight of fancy with bird-themed Chanel show

The vast Grand Palais exhibition space in central Paris was transformed into an enchanted forest populated by giant mushrooms and pink weeping willows as stars from Nicole Kidman to Dua Lipa looked on.

Blazy, 41, said he intended to "probe and explore the heart of Chanel" with his Haute Couture creations following his highly acclaimed first ready-to-wear women's collection in the same space in June.

That show was set against giant glowing planets that signalled his ambitions, while Tuesday's looks were rooted in more earthly beauty, particularly the elegance of bird life.

"The idea of the feather runs through the collection, though seldom in its natural form. All kinds of birds appear, as if by magic, from the most familiar to the rarest," Blazy wrote in his show notes.

The Franco-Belgian couturier referenced the extravagant plumage of a roseate spoonbill or the crested cockatoo alongside the humble crow, grey pigeon and magpie.

- Creative overhaul -

Blazy's debut show was one the most hotly anticipated moments of Haute Couture Week, alongside new Dior designer Jonathan Anderson’s outing on Monday.

Anderson, a 41-year-old Northern Irish designer, also honoured nature, but through highly floral silhouettes that were both sculptural and airy.

The two designers were promoted as part of a vast overhaul of creative director positions in the European luxury clothing sector in the last 12 months.

Blazy was poached from Italian leather goods brand Bottega Veneta in December 2024 and handed the task of turning the page on the era of Karl Lagerfeld, who reigned for more than three decades at Chanel.

Lagerfeld was replaced by his handpicked successor Virginie Viard upon his death in 2019 before she abruptly left in June 2024.

C.Fong--ThChM