Chanel’s latest show celebrates older, natural women with confidence
Chanel’s Cruise 2027 show by Lisa Armstrong
Chanel is on such a high right now that the championing of older women, both on and off the catwalk by its artistic director, Matthieu Blazey, carries real power.
At this cruise show in Biarritz, staged in the town’s imposing Art Deco casino, against a swathe of white-crested Atlantic Ocean, 50-year-old Stephanie Cavilli (photographed), grey hairs left uncoloured; Christina Chung, the elegant 60-year-old mother of seven; and Laura Ponte, 53, walked under the spotlights, devoid of obvious filler and Botox too.
Tilda Swinton attends the Chanel Cruise 2026/27 on April 28, 2026 in Biarritz, France.
On the front row, Tilda Swinton (65, photographed) and Sofia Coppola (a mere 54) were clearly in the less-is-more camp as well. Lest we forget, Chanel has a multi-billion cosmetics business, so this no make-up-make-up aesthetic means something. This is a brand that believes in synergy across all its products. We’re entering the era of “old money” make-up.
Nicole Kidman attends the Chanel Cruise 2026/27 on April 28, 2026 in Biarritz, France.
Also present: Nicole Kidman (58, photographed), the naturalness or otherwise of whose appearance is consistently debated, makes another point perhaps: women are refusing to become invisible as they age. Emma Balfour, one of the original Nineties waifs, was in the show too. At 47 she’s a stripling by today’s standards, but back in the Nineties, a modelling career at her age was an anomaly.
Noor Khan walks the runway during the Chanel Cruise 2026/27 on April 28, 2026 in Biarritz, France.
Under Blazy, Chanel is becoming less a uniform and more a dazzling array of possibilities, from the black “revenge” dress that opened the show (worn by model Noor Khan [pictured] and based on an original Chanel from around 1930) to the skirts, which are as much the star as the jackets. Variations include slouchy, just-below-the-knee styles, wraps and kilts, and the flamboyantly fringed and ruffled.
A model walks the runway during the Chanel Cruise 2026/27 on April 28, 2026 in Biarritz, France.
This, Blazy’s fifth collection, is as sophisticated in detail and craft as his previous ones. It’s hard to credit that just a year ago, the Chanel studio designed a resort collection that featured towelling short sets. Cute, but on a different level from the skills apparent here.
Elodie Guipaud walks the runway during the Chanel Cruise 2026/27 on April 28, 2026 in Biarritz, France.
Biarritz, which was the playground of the super-rich before the First World War, possesses to this day a grand opulence Bournemouth or Eastbourne would kill for. It’s where Chanel opened her first clothing boutique in 1915 (her store in Deauville sold hats), which she only closed with the breakout of war in 1939. Chanel drew inspiration from Biarritz’s bathing costumes, jersey beachwear and sailor’s outfits, turning them into daywear and rewiring fashion in the process. Blazy, in turn, has transported her designs to 2026, casting her drop-waisted silhouettes in new, often specially woven viscoses, jacquards and silks, often plain from the front but embellished with bows at the back or sides.
Maya Nazarae walks the runway during the Chanel Cruise 2026/27 on April 28, 2026 in Biarritz, France.
A floaty, polka-dot burgundy and white skirt suit had barely been altered from its original of almost a century ago. Newspaper prints alluded to Chanel’s penchant for reading newspapers, “just like a man”, as she used to say. Logos, which seem a bit obvious for the original Gabrielle Chanel, were taken directly from the archives. “She was one of the first to use them this big on clothes,” Blazy explains. “But they weren’t simply branding. They were – and are – part of the construction.”
Bags come in raffia, stripes and tweed beading, shoes in glitter or patent. Some gold sandals had no sole, only a cap for the heel – a concept so outlandish it’s bound to catch on among Chanel’s most hard-core fans.
Josephen Akue walks the runway during the Chanel Cruise 2026/27 on April 28, 2026 in Biarritz, France.
Long dresses shimmered like mermaid scales; colours were saturated and far richer than they have previously been at Chanel. The fact that the pop-up Chanel boutique – its first in Biarritz since 1939 – has attracted 1,000 clients a day since it opened earlier this week suggests its new breadth of vision – neither minimalist nor maximalist, but an invitation to celebrate individuality – is cutting through.
