Chanel couture celebrates older women in Matthieu Blazy’s first show

In his first couture show for Chanel on Tuesday, designer Matthieu Blazy foregrounded older models, opening with a 40‑something Stephanie Cavalli and ending with a feathered last look worn by Bhavitha Mandava, as part of a wider rethinking of the house. The show followed a string of moves that have spotlighted relative unknowns: in October Awar Odhiang closed Mr.

Blazy’s debut collection with an exuberant moment that became a meme, and in December Mr. Blazy brought his Métiers d’Art collection to the New York City subway and tapped Bhavitha Mandava to open that show, making her the first Indian model to get that gig, the review says. Mr. Blazy said he wanted to free Chanel from old strictures, including the expectation of grim, automaton‑like teenagers on the runway: older models, he said backstage, “bring a completely different dimension to the clothes.

They have life; they’ve seen the world.” The review notes not every model was mature, but there were enough to avoid tokenism. The collection also untethered itself from classic Chanel iconography — camellias, double Cs, bows and ropes of pearls — and was set in a fairy‑tale‑pink forest speckled with oversized mushrooms.

Mr. Blazy named birds as an inspiration; clothes were often airy, rendered in layers of transparent mousseline rather than traditional bouclé.

chanel couture show, matthieu blazy, matthieu blazy couture, stephanie cavalli opening, bhavitha mandava closing, awar odhiang meme, older models runway, mature models chanel, avian-inspired looks, fairy-tale-pink forest, oversized mushrooms set, transparent mousseline, bouclé alternative, camellias double cs, seed pearl chain, 3-d faux tweed, mother-of-pearl feathers, made-to-order couture, personalized couture details, métiers d'art subway, new york city subway, ravens little black dresses, mousseline bluejeans, coco chanel heritage