The Albany Gazette - High-flying Blazy turns to birdlife at Chanel

The display was heavy on Chanel's classic tweeds, but with new modern flourishes, as well as knee-length skirts which are roaring back into fashion in the Spring-Summer 2027 shows.

"It’s a collection about Gabrielle Chanel’s layered stories. Ultimately, Chanel took off, and each step she took led to her being free, like a bird," Blazy said in his notes for his third ready-to-wear collection.

The show took place in the Grand Palais exhibition space in the French capital, beneath a display of giant illuminated origami cranes that looked like a mobile hung above a child's bed.

Brand ambassadors and Hollywood A-listers Pedro Pascal and Nicole Kidman sat on the front row alongside other VIPs such as singer Dua Lipa and actor John Malkovich.

Chanel had offered a preview of the highly avian collection through a series of black-and-white art photographs by British photographer David Bailey, featuring motifs of feathers, nests and bird's feet.

Blazy, 42, has made gently modernising Chanel his mission since his debut collection in October last year, which was widely praised by fashion watchers and lapped up by luxury buyers.

While other fashion houses are struggling with weak or dipping sales, Chanel's are taking flight.

Some of Blazy's designs have proved so popular they have sparked so-called "Blazymania", frenzied buying in stores of items that often cost thousands of dollars.

The family-owned company's revenues jumped by around 16 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period of 2025, according to a recent report from financial news agency Bloomberg.

- Afghan women -

Elsewhere on Monday, actresses Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts and Sarah Snook sat front row at fast-expanding Australian brand Zimmermann for its romantic and airy butterfly-themed Spring-Summer collection.

The label became the first Australian member of the French Haute Couture and Fashion Federation (FHCM) in July and is opening new stores at pace.

"We have lots of ambitions for what we think we can do for the business. And I just enjoy it," chief designer Nicky Zimmermann, one half of the two Zimmermann sisters behind the brand, told AFP.

Uruguayan designer Gabriela Hearst celebrated the art of Afghan women, with traditional prints and intricate craftsmanship, in her catwalk collection on Monday.

White ensembles incorporating small mirrors, or dresses with full skirts and fitted bodices featuring traditional motifs such as pomegranates were inspired by Afghan symbols and craft.

"The Gabriela Hearst Spring Summer 2027 collection honors the women of Afghanistan, centering their experience over the last 100 years," the brand said in a press release.

"The season pays tribute to the region’s rich creative and textile traditions, studying their practical and cultural functions and working directly with the Afghan women artisans who continue to preserve and develop this heritage through their craft.

Paris Womenswear Fashion Week will close on Tuesday with shows by Ukrainian designer Litkovska, Georgia's Situationist, and Paris-based giant Louis Vuitton.

(T.Martin--TAG)