It’s a new era at Chanel, and it’s big on personality and characters.

On a dark and stormy December evening, the brand’s 2026 Métiers d’Art runway show took place on an abandoned subway platform in New York City—an unusual venue for the French house, which is known to show at the Grand Palais, or in far-flung locations for its resort and pre-fall collections. This time, Matthieu Blazy—the newly named Chanel creative director, who made his debut for spring 2026 in October —made clothes that paid tribute to the quirky sensibilities and caricatures associated with New York. There were tons of pinstripes, feathered gowns, neon animal-print skirt suits, and enough statement coats to burst through the closet of any downtown apartment.

Models wove through a stationed subway train and onto the

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