Today in Paris, Matthieu Blazy unveiled his first couture collection for Chanel—and it was well worth the wait.
The designer transformed the cavernous Grand Palais into a mystical fairytale land—filled with giant surreal mushrooms and sugary-pink willow trees. The clothes were just as fantastical: sheer skirt suits, ruffled tweeds, and flouncy chiffon dresses all sauntered down the runway. (If the show was a dream, it’s one we don’t want to wake up from.)
It wouldn’t be a Chanel show, however, without a front row filled with the buzziest stars of the moment. Friends of the French fashion house—A$AP Rocky, Nicole Kidman, Margaret Qualley, Penélope Cruz, and Dua Lipa among them—showed up in their finest couture-worthy looks, transforming into proper Parisians for the day.
While some captured the city’s cooler, edgier side—see: A$AP Rocky and his sleek leather trench coat—others leaned into a more sophisticated, uptown feel, like Gracie Abrams in her electric-yellow tweed jacket. The VIP seats were as much a fashion spectacle as the catwalk itself.
Want to make sure you didn’t miss any of the notable names on Chanel’s front row? Scroll on for exclusive photos from inside the show—plus, Vogue asks the A-listers to weigh in on their favorite looks, and what they do in Paris to feel like a local.
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Photo: German Larkin
Dua Lipa
What was your favorite look in the show?
“The chiffon pieces with the mushroom detailing—the baby blue with the red mushrooms, and the yellow with the multicolored mushrooms. I also loved the mushrooms heels. It made me want to throw out everything in my wardrobe, and only have made-to-measure things.”
What do you do to feel like a local in Paris?
“Going to a boulangerie and getting a delicious baguette, and having that with butter—and that’s it.”
The show was dreamy. What did you dream about last night?
“I had a horrible dream last night, actually. It was a teeth dream—I am much more enjoying this dream [at the show.]”
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Photo: German Larkin
A$AP Rocky
What was your favorite look in the show?
“There was a blue velour suit. I need it now.”
The show was dreamy. What did you dream about last night?
“You know, I’m living out my dreams.”
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Photo: German Larkin
Tilda Swinton and Hamish Bowles
What was your favorite look in the show?
“The velvet pajamas are mine,” says Swinton.
What do you do to feel like a local in Paris?
“It’s not hard. You get out of the train at the Gare du Nord, and there you are. I have many friends here, and I love my life when I’m here,” says Swinton.
The show was dreamy. What did you dream about last night?
“Last night, I didn’t dream much because I didn’t sleep much. But I’m dreaming today,” says Swinton.
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Photo: German Larkin
Nicole Kidman
What was your favorite look in the show?
“The sheer jeans and the white top I love. The black sheath I love. One of the pieces would be beautiful pajamas—I could go out in the garden and wear that.”
What do you do to feel like a local in Paris?
“I go and I buy my fruits and vegetables. I buy my cheese, I buy my bread. Beautiful baguettes and my coffee. And then I sit under a mushroom!”
The show was dreamy. What did you dream about last night?
“Last night I didn’t sleep because I came from Chile. Then I went from Antarctica to Nashville, where there was a huge ice storm, and now I’m here, in this magical mushroom garden.”
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Photo: German Larkin
Gracie Abrams
What was your favorite look in the show?
“I was obsessed with the sheer everything. All of the buttons made me smile so big. The last look with the bird on her shoulder and back was so special.”
What do you do to feel like a local in Paris?
“To feel like a local, I will walk everywhere. I will try my best to communicate in French, though I am very quickly met with English, and very quickly disappointed in myself.”
The show was dreamy. What did you dream about last night?
“I have been having nightmares that are pretty surreal. I don’t want to scare the viewers at Vogue!”
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Photo: German Larkin
Zhou Xun and Penelope Cruz
What do you do to feel like a local in Paris?
“Normally, I don’t eat a lot of bread,” says Cruz. “I don’t eat gluten—but when I’m here, bread and salted butter.”
The show was dreamy. What did you dream about last night?
“My dreams last night were very intense,” says Cruz. “I dream in colors—it’s exhausting. I unfortunately cannot share it with you, but it was very interesting.”
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Photo: German Larkin
Dua Lipa and A$AP Rocky
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Photo: German Larkin
Vanessa Paradis
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Photo: German Larkin
A$AP Rocky
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Photo: German Larkin
Ramata-Toulaye Sy
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Photo: German Larkin
Margaret Qualley
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Photo: German Larkin
A$AP Rocky
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Photo: German Larkin
Nicole Kidman, A$AP Rocky, Dua Lipa, and Margaret Qualley
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Photo: German Larkin
Michel Gondry
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Photo: German Larkin
Kim Go-Eun
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Photo: German Larkin
Caroline de Maigret
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Photo: German Larkin
Nicole Kidman, Fernanda Torres, and Tilda Swinton
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Photo: German Larkin
Anyier Anei
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Photo: German Larkin
Bruna Marquezine
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Photo: German Larkin
Guillaume Diop and Hannah O’Neill
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Photo: German Larkin
Charlotte Casiraghi
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Photo: German Larkin
Arthur Jafa
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Photo: German Larkin
Quen Blackwell
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Photo: German Larkin
Malick Bodian and Ramata-Toulaye Sy
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.