Chanel in Seoul: Matthieu Blazy Breaks Down His Historic Métiers d'Art 2026 Show
The creative director discusses finding the origins of streetwear in the Maison’s archives, and his deeply personal approach to the women who wear his clothes.
When Matthieu Blazy decided to restage his debut Métiers d’Art collection for Chanel, bringing the show from New York to Seoul felt less like a logistical shift and more like an intuitive cultural exchange. Unveiled at the new Centre Pompidou Hanwha, the runway served as a dynamic intersection of global pop culture, modern art, and unparalleled Parisian craftsmanship. Reflecting on the monumental presentation, Blazy breaks down the historical deep-dives, the artisanal mastery, and the profound humanity driving his vision for the iconic luxury house in an exclusive conversation with Hypebeast.
For Blazy, the decision to bring the collection to South Korea—spearheaded alongside Chanel’s President of Fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky—was rooted in the city’s undeniable contemporary influence. The creative director recognized a parallel vibrancy between the bustling streets of Manhattan and the rapid cultural ascension of Seoul.
“Not that I want to compare New York and Seoul, but for me, it has similar energy,” Blazy explains. “There is something very magnetic that is happening in Seoul… By culture, I mean it’s really a culture that became global, you know. We all know it. Incredible chefs, incredible food, incredible music. Korean is the third language learned in the USA because of K-pop and movies, and I thought Seoul was the perfect background for this collection.”
The venue itself further anchored his vision. Hosted in a new museum dedicated to cubism, the setting perfectly mirrored the multifaceted nature of the collection. “Cubism is the representation of a woman or of a man,” he notes, finding a poetic link between the fractured, dimensional art movement and the diverse characters he sent down the runway.
Blazy’s Chanel is fundamentally about the person wearing the clothes, rather than the clothes wearing the person. He envisions a sartorial melting pot where time is erased—blending the ’70s, the Art Deco period, and the modern day to reflect how people naturally mix vintage and contemporary pieces in the streets. “I channel the women, they dress for themselves,” he says. “It was about this… a look for everyday, a look to go to the office, to run to the shopping, these kind of things. What I like about those looks is it’s not just about fashion, it’s about the person who wears it.”
Diving into the Chanel archives, Blazy pulled out surprising, playful elements. He reintroduced animal prints, pointing out that “Gabrielle Chanel herself… was actually the first to do it in the 20s.” He also wasn’t afraid to inject loud, modern pop culture into the heritage brand, featuring superhero-inspired “Spider-Man” and “Superman” looks, a popcorn tweed suit, and even a loving sartorial homage to his own dog.
He actively challenged the traditional boundaries of corporate dressing, presenting a silhouette his studio affectionately dubbed “the cupcake.” “The idea that you can be a business woman, you also have the right to be pretty,” Blazy asserts. “To be not just modern but being cute is also a decision and an active woman.”
At its core, the Métiers d’Art collection is a love letter to the legendary Parisian artisans housed at le19M. Blazy views the collection through a lens of immense respect for the historic craftspeople who bring his sketches to life. “It is a ready-to-wear collection, but the tool is the hand,” he states beautifully. “It’s very interesting for me as a designer to be able to talk with, for example, Lesage, who has a deep tradition in embroidery, but with Montex, who is way more progressive in his approach, or Lemarié, who can do feathers… and the shoes as well with Massaro.”
For Blazy, directing these historic ateliers requires stepping back and absorbing their generational wisdom. “You have to imagine that it’s a collection where you have so much know-how… people sometimes they know a technique for more than 40 years, and me, when I’m standing in front of them, I’m very humble, I listen.”
Perhaps Blazy’s most profound takeaway is his perspective on Gabrielle Chanel’s influence on modern ease. Recalling her transformative trip to New York in the 1920s, he describes how seeing downtown women wearing clothes “in the style of Chanel” for their real, everyday lives completely changed her approach to design.
Upon returning to Paris, she made a revolutionary, liberating gesture: “She’s going to slightly lower the armhole, add ease in the clothes, and she’s also going to add a little bit more fabric on the skirt, so you can really walk.” For Blazy, this historical pivot is monumental. “I see this as a little bit the birth of streetwear. Chanel is not just camellia, it’s also street wear, liberation, freedom, and movement.”
Beyond the impeccable tailoring and historic savoir-faire, the Seoul show was a deeply personal affair for the creative director. He made it a point to highlight his ongoing relationships with his models, noting that the runway serves as a place of reunion and shared life milestones.
