Chanel couture gets a breath of fresh air and stars. Armani revamps

PARIS — Fashion powerhouse Chanel stacked the Paris front row like a movie premiere Tuesday: Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa, Penélope Cruz, A$AP Rocky, Gracie Abrams, Margaret Qualley.

Then, it handed the spotlight to its new designer, Matthieu Blazy, for his much-anticipated couture debut built on one big, confident swing: joy.

Inside the Grand Palais, the house went full fantasy.

The set was a dream-garden of candy-colored trees and giant pink-and-red mushrooms: a surreal antidote to the gray January day outside, and to the even heavier mood of the world beyond the doors.

Before the first look, Blazy even teased the mood with an animation film of woodland animals at work in the Chanel ateliers, ''Cinderella'' style: a wink that said this would be couture, but not grim.

Then came the clothes, and the message landed fast: lightness.

Codes made weightless

A classic skirt suit arrived as a sheer, barely-there version of itself, cut so delicately it looked like air had been tailored.

In a house where tweed can be armor, this was tweed as whisper.

Birds hovered over the collection as a guiding idea: freedom, motion, travel.

Featherlike textures and flighty embroideries fluttered across silhouettes that moved like breath instead of structure.

There were flashes of plumage in color and surface — at times bright, at times raven-dark — and plenty of soft, floating chiffon that made the models look as if they were gliding rather than walking.

The best trick was how the craft wasn't obvious.

Up close, the work was meticulous: a level of handwork couture clients pay for, and ateliers live for.

But the overall effect stayed easy, almost casual; as if the clothes were beautiful without demanding applause.

Blazy played with the artistic technique trompe l'oeil, including a tank top-and-jeans idea reimagined in organza, and with textures that were romantic but also a little strange; couture that winked.

Sexy intimacy

Models were invited to pick symbols and messages to stitch into the clothes — a love note, a sign, a private mark.

It pushed Chanel away from ''uniform'' and toward intimacy: couture as a wearable secret, not just a public statement.

The show also had a sense of casting as storytelling.

Blazy's runways have tended to carry an open, joyful energy, and that continued here — a mix of ages, backgrounds and presences that made the clothes feel lived-in.

Model Bhavitha Mandava, fresh off her viral moment at the house's Métiers d'Art show, returned.

Wonder-couture, with a pop finish

The soundtrack shifted moods like a DJ set, moving from Disney sweetness to millennial nostalgia — including Moby's ''Porcelain,'' and a mashup that blended Oasis' ''Wonderwall'' with The Verve's ''Bitter Sweet Symphony.''

By the finale, the room was playing along.

Big sets are easy. Blazy's debut didn't try to overpower Chanel with noise or force a new era with aggression. Instead, he made it feel alive.

Armani's new direction

Armani, who worked alongside him for more than four decades, becomes the only woman leading a couture house this season, in a week dominated by high-profile debuts from male designers.

Her debut kept the house's signature restraint but pushed it toward a lighter, more wearable mood. The lineup was trimmed to about 60 looks, a sharper edit than the brand's typical scale.

Tailoring opened the show, but softened: relaxed suits, sheer organza shirts with ties, and wide-leg trousers in light layers that moved easily on the runway. Accessories were kept minimal — and hats were left out entirely, a notable change for a house long associated with Giorgio Armani's love of headwear.

Tribute couture

The palette stayed pale and controlled, with celadon and blush tones running through the collection.

Evening looks brought the strongest statements, including crystal-shimmered gowns that read almost weightless, sequins paired casually with wide trousers, and a column dress covered in translucent crystals under a black satin opera coat lined in matching green.