EXCLUSIVE: Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel Resort 2026

Even though Chanel presented its resort 2026 collection last spring at a fashion show staged on the shores of Lake Como, the brand has now released an updated, tightly edited lookbook—one clearly marked by Matthieu Blazy’s very visible touch. It is a far cry from the post–Virginie Viard studio work: no more dorky-looking dresses that dominated the brand over the past few years. What emerges instead is a vision of a truly contemporary woman wearing Chanel.

Relaxed styles, conceived from morning to evening, revolve around the eternal little black jacket, worn either with a matching tweed mini-skirt or with flared jeans – naturally, with flats. Although the look is instantly familiar, the jacket’s lines feel sharper and cooler. A creased velvet slip dress, finished with a camellia brooch, appears easy and chic when paired with mid-heeled two-toned pumps. The super-soft cardigan-jacket in the creamiest shade of ecru? It recalls the best of Karl Lagerfeld’s finest collections, like the spring 1999 couture line-up where he did similar fitted styles with plunging necklines.

This lookbook, arriving under Blazy’s creative direction, reads as a smooth foretaste of his debut runway collection, soon to hit stores. The pajama shirt hints at the forthcoming Charvet collaboration, while the boxy grey suit feels like a simpler, more day-appropriate version of the show’s opening look. It is refreshing to see Matthieu Blazy’s vision of the Chanel woman outside the context of runway spectacle – just highly-aspirational ideas for how to wear the brand in 2026.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram.

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe.

Shape-Shifter. Hed Mayner AW26

If you’ve been reading for a while, you already know I’m a Hed Mayner fan. My admiration for the Paris-based designer was fully cemented after visiting his showroom last year and trying on some of his unbelievably well-made garments. Many people associate him solely with oversized silhouettes, but Mayner’s world extends far beyond that. His clothes are charged with gesture – they quite literally enhance the wearer: their mood, their attitude, their presence.

Mayner is also a master at exploring the possibilities of silhouette. In an hourglass-shaped Hed Mayner coat, you command true presence – and look striking while doing so. The same can be said for an overscaled leather jacket, reworked suit trousers with exaggerated pleats, or a perfectly judged vintage-inspired bomber.

This season, the designer officially welcomes women into his world, offering meaty velvet dresses and sequinned silver frocks that somehow fit seamlessly into his universe. But what I loved most about the autumn–winter 2026 collection is its sense of continuity. You can spot echoes of last winter’s offering – fringed scarves, utilitarian blousons – reminding us: why change something that’s already great?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram.

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe.

Swaggering. Soshiotsuki SS26

Menswear fashion month kicked off with its brightest emerging star: Soshiotsuki, the Tokyo-based brand rooted in 1980s-inspired sartorial craftsmanship, recalling the glamour and prosperity of Japan’s Bubble Era. Back in September, following Giorgio Armani’s still-unbelievable passing, I wrote that Soshi Otsuki was the designer the Italian mega-brand should consider in the near future. With his guest show at Pitti Uomo and his autumn–winter 2026 collection, he confirms that belief.

The LVMH Prize winner delivered a line-up that sharpened his tailoring ideas while expanding the vision of who the Soshiotsuki man is. One look featured a trompe l’œil jumpsuit combining a button-up shirt and trousers – a moment that recalled Phoebe Philo’s early Céline collections and sparked a question: why has no one adapted this idea to menswear sooner? Another highlight was the sashiko suit and jeans, created in collaboration with Proleta Re Art, a Japanese brand known for its painstakingly hand-stitched fabrics reinterpreted through streetwear. The silver-fox model seemed to gaze beyond in that grey, distressed-looking suit.

Then there are the details that make Soshiotsuki stand out even among affluent-men favorites such as Zegna or Berluti. Extra fabric is built into the inside placket of a shirt to suggest a tucked-in necktie, while trousers are given reams of belt loops or draped with so many pleats that they hang like curtains. The effect? A dapper, swaggering handsomeness – intoxicating, like the smell of smoke in a high-end izakaya.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram.

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe.