The end of an era: Chanel's Haute Couture Winter 25/26 celebrates beige and abundance in the last fall show before Matthieu Blazy's debut.

During Haute Couture Week, one of the Grand Palais's salons became the quintessential Parisian salon: opposite Naomi Campbell's glasses, the walls were covered in beige curtains and mirrored screens that, like in the Rue Cambon studio, framed cream velvet sofas. For its farewell, the couture studio that has worked with Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard for the past few decades chose to celebrate Chanel's origins through a serene color palette in which ivory reigned among black and white organza, hunting green jersey, and metallic thread. The journey through time continued in the silhouette, which, sculpted at the shoulders, was liberated in straight patterns that foresaw the waist and revived the cut at the hips. The steps led to the comfort advocated by the designer: heeled shoes gave way to flat, high-top boots that reached the knees and climbed to the thigh. In the details, a manifesto for the new era of the house: the fringes that evoked movement on the shoulders, skirts, and sleeves emulated ears of wheat, a symbol of abundance for the French Empress Josephine. So be it