Style Edit: Chanel’s fall/winter 2026 pre-collection gives womenswear a youthful spinArtistic director Matthieu Blazy loosens formal codes, shortens hemlines and adds colour, echoing founder Gabrielle Chanel’s own playful spiritIt has only been a year since Matthieu Blazy showed his first collection for Chanel, but the Blazy effect, as fashion insiders like to call it, is showing no signs of waning.Since his arrival, the designer has reimagined Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s enduring legacy with a playful, youthful spirit that appeals to modern women. Signatures like the tweed suit are transformed into cool, contemporary staples that are versatile and easy to wear, while each collection exudes luxury through the maison’s exquisite craftsmanship and artisanal touches. While Coco’s designs liberated the female body, Blazy’s are helping women reclaim their identity and power in today’s world.Bag silhouettes are both new and familiar in Chanel’s fall/winter 2026 pre-collection. Photo: HandoutThis vision continues in the Chanel fall/winter 2026 pre-collection, which is designed for women in motion. Blazy returns to familiar Chanel codes and wardrobe essentials, but re-envisages them through the eyes of everyday heroines and cinema icons walking the streets of Paris.Elegant and self-assured, the collection features soft, fluid pieces such as dresses and silk scarves adorned with prints of the city. Office dressing takes on a more nonchalant attitude with relaxed tailoring, including a signature suit with a skirt cut slightly lower on the hip, styled with shirttails left free and hands in pockets.Chanel’s pansy motif earring and ring from its fall/winter 2026 pre-collection. Photo: HandoutChanel’s must-have tweeds are available in simple, whisper-light textures or embellished. A classic jacket-and-skirt ensemble is elevated in quilted denim, while other essentials include supple suede skirts, two-tone corduroy revisited in tweed, multicolour fantasy knits and shearling.Floral prints bring splashes of colour to the Chanel fall/winter 2026 pre-collection. Photo: HandoutThe youthful spirit that has become a Blazy hallmark is also evident in shorter hemlines, cropped, fitted jackets and ruffled collars. Modern floral prints, including poppies, bloom across full-skirted dresses, shirts and silk satin pyjamas. A muted, timeless palette of black, navy, beige, denim and grey anchors the collection.Chanel’s fall/winter 2026 pre-collection features versatile bucket bags. Photo: Handout