Chanel went underground for its latest spectacle, transforming a disused corner of Manhattan’s Bowery station into an atmospheric runway for its new Métiers d’Art collection. It marked Matthieu Blazy’s first major outing for the house since his Paris debut in October, and his decision to stage the presentation on an actual subway platform gave the showcase an unmistakably New York pulse.
The annual Métiers d’Art show spotlights the specialist ateliers that collaborate with Chanel, and for its return to New York — the first since 2018 — the brand doubled the occasion with two shows on the same day. As expected, the guest list brimmed with familiar names: A$AP Rocky, Tilda Swinton, Ayo Edebiri, Rose Byrne, Kristen Stewart, Lupita Nyong’o, Sofia Coppola and Jon Bon Jovi were among those navigating the discreet entrance on Bowery.
At street level, the venue appeared to mimic a subway station, complete with tiled walls, turnstiles and a newsstand stacked with bespoke newspapers. Only after descending the stairs did guests discover the genuine platform, fitted with bleacher seating designed to resemble everyday subway benches. The familiar announcement — “Stand clear of the closing doors!” — set the tone before a train pulled in and the first models stepped out.
The staging contrasted sharply with Chanel’s last Métiers d’Art appearance in New York, when Karl Lagerfeld commandeered the Egyptian Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an opulent, museum-scale production. Blazy veered in the opposite direction, taking inspiration from ordinary commuters and the eclectic cast of characters who populate New York’s subway system.
His show notes underscored this sentiment: “The New York subway belongs to all,” he wrote. “There are students and game-changers, statesmen and teenagers. It is a place full of wonderful encounters, a clash of pop archetypes.”
Models enacted this narrative with playful authenticity — checking for trains, leaning against pillars and performing the tiny gestures familiar to anyone who has waited on a platform. As the number of bodies grew, the scene became a kind of fashionable rush hour, underscored by a soundtrack that closed with the Happy Days theme.
Blazy’s interpretation of commuter style stretched across eras, referencing silhouettes from the 1920s onward. Classic Chanel suiting appeared alongside tweed coats, flowing capes and patterned skirts, paired with subtle nods to the city, including “I (Heart) NY” T-shirts. Each look foregrounded the craftsmanship that defines the annual collection, but filtered through Blazy’s relaxed, character-led vision.
Kristen Stewart, attending the afternoon show, described the experience as “breaking the system”. She spoke of seeing not a single archetypal Chanel woman, but “so many different versions of a person walking”, capturing the fleeting, observational quality of travel. The staging felt, she said, like glimpsing “a flurry of fleeting caught moments”.
Detail extended beyond the clothes. A special edition of La Gazette, Chanel’s in-house newspaper, was printed for the event with articles and interviews, including reflections from Blazy on his inspiration. Among them was Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s 1931 visit to New York and her enduring fascination with the city’s pace.
For Blazy, the subway remains New York’s great connective force — “the vortex of the city”, as he put it. In his hands, it became the unlikely, spirited stage for Chanel’s latest expression of craft.
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