In less than a year, Matthieu Blazy transformed the Chanel shoe into a testing ground, between heritage and subtle irreverence.

When Matthieu Blazy was appointed artistic director of <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/hommes/jacob-elordi-devient-le-nouveau-visage-de-bleu-de-chanel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chanel</a> in December 2024, the anticipation was charged with an almost solemn tension. Not the tension surrounding a designer still to prove himself, but the tension preceding a decisive move. Faced with a house whose codes are among the most firmly established in fashion, the question wasn't whether he would be able to do it, but how he would dare to undo it.
It all began at the <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/fashion-week/chez-chanel-matthieu-blazy-fait-tourner-les-astres-de-la-maison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spring/Summer 2026</a> show. For his first collection, Matthieu Blazy chose not to rush <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/horlogerie/watches-and-wonders-2026-chanel-joue-avec-le-temps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chanel</a> , but to listen to them. The wardrobe laid the foundations for a developing visual language, and shoes already played a decisive, almost subtle, role. Slingbacks, pumps, and sandals revisited the founding codes&mdash;contrasting toes, clean lines, balanced proportions&mdash;but something shifted imperceptibly. Shapes lengthened, cuts refined, heels took on a new presence. Nothing was yet spectacular; everything was intentional. Blazy created a tension: that of a meticulous respect that already contained its own transformation.

The <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/fashion-week/chez-chanel-la-grace-fondatrice-de-la-haute-couture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spring/Summer 2026 haute couture collection</a> marks a turning point. Where ready-to-wear was tentative, couture begins to tell a story. A haiku becomes the starting point, opening onto an almost dreamlike universe. Shoes then leave their status as mere accessories to become objects of narrative. Heels are transformed into delicate mushrooms, sometimes topped with a miniature bird, as if suspended in time. The gesture is audacious, but never gratuitous: it reveals what Blazy does when constraints disappear&mdash;he imagines. And in this imagination, the Chanel shoe ceases to be merely iconic and becomes expressive.

The <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/fashion-week/chez-chanel-les-icones-du-vestiaire-prennent-un-nouvel-elan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection</a> confirms this growing momentum. The offering expands, becomes denser, more complex. Blazy explores all styles with increasing freedom: silver loafers embossed with the logo, slingbacks with wide, sculptural heels, strappy sandals adorned with floral appliqu&eacute;s, boots that play with textures and contrasts. The aesthetic spectrum stretches from the most classic to the most unexpected. Some models flirt with irony&mdash;almost downy heels, like a wink&mdash;proof of a now firmly established confidence. Here, the designer no longer simply interprets Chanel: he engages in a dialogue with it.

Then came the <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/fashion-week/chez-chanel-un-defile-croisiere-a-biarritz-berceau-du-style-resort" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Resort 2027</a> collection, presented in Biarritz, the house's birthplace. The approach became clear, almost radical. Blazy pushed its experiments to their maximum tension. Sandals were reduced to the essentials&mdash;simple straps, a barely suggested heel, sometimes limited to a metal cap. The contrasting toe, a historical signature, exploded in bold colors, unexpected patterns, and almost graphic variations. Rubber boots, braided surfaces, daring cutouts: everything conspired to shake the very notion of classicism.

Following this trajectory, season after season, one thing becomes clear. Matthieu Blazy didn't try to reinvent <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/hommes/harry-styles-dandy-moderne-chanel-metiers-d-art-tapis-rouge-brit-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chanel</a> with a single spectacular gesture. He preferred a more subtle, almost literary approach: laying down a phrase, then another, until a new narrative was crafted. And in this narrative, the shoe&mdash;long a discreet pillar&mdash;becomes the exclamation point.

At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy Turns Shoes Into Objects Of Desire

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