When Matthieu Blazy staged his first (highly anticipated) show for Chanel in January 2026, he transformed the Grand Palais into a planetarium with a sprinkling of planets suspended over the runway and a glistening, sparkly floor the colour of a black hole. The house's history was rearranged into something closer to astronomy than archive. The scenography read as a debut designer's way of saying I am building a world. Watching Blazy’s haute couture show for Autumn/Winter 2026, this first show was transformed into a founding thesis statement. Blazy was never just decorating the room; he was mapping it, plotting the women who would orbit him, each bright enough to hold her own gravity. Altogether, Blazy and his women form a shape far greater than a single star could make alone.

The casting told its own story: generations of women shared a runway with a fluency and conviction that felt removed from styling. Girls in their first seasons walked alongside women who have been walking the runway for decades. It's a small but deliberate correction in an industry that often treats age as an expiry date rather than a credential. But Blazy's constellation extends further still, past the runway and into the front row, where he has assembled what the house calls its friends, drawn from various industries such as fashion, sport and beyond. This week, TANK put three questions to four friends in attendance at Blazy’s second haute couture outing for Chanel: Surya Bonaly, Jeannie Longo, Imane Khelif and Euzhan Palcy.

Surya Bonaly retired from competitive figure skating carrying one of the sport's great injustices. Her career was shaped by years of being marked down by judges and audiences unaccustomed to a Black woman commanding the ice. This culminated in a backflip landed on a single blade at the 1998 Olympics, for which she was penalised. Skaters now perform this move to much acclaim, obliquely in tribute to her, and she has since become a coach and an outspoken advocate for the sport she loves. When we asked whether haute couture's devotion to craft resonated with her, she answered with the plain logic of someone who has spent a life training for a single jump: “It is very similar to my sport, before you see results, there is a lot to do prior. Couture requires a lot of discipline, quantity and precision before you see progress.” On what it means to be a Chanel woman, she found her own throughline back to the house's founder: “Mademoiselle Chanel was a very strong woman: she strived and had the perseverance, courage and self-empowerment that led to her being an entrepreneur very early in the 20th century.” And finally, on whether fashion mirrors or subverts the risk-taking at the centre of her sport, she didn't hesitate: “ Absolutely. Skating is pretty similar in terms of artistry and fashion. It's judged, and it's made to fit with the music. Fashion has that freedom of expression, and clothing can change people's minds. There are no borders or political status like in sports, and I think that's why people like it so much. You feel transported to an unbelievable world, like a big dream.”

Jeannie Longo cycled professionally for nearly forty years, long enough that by the end of her career she was racing against cyclists who hadn't yet been born when she took her first title, making her one of the defining figures in the history of women's cycling. Her answers carry the vocabulary of someone who understands endurance as a form of craftsmanship: “What draws me to haute couture are the values: the pursuit of quality, the exacting standards in materials and originality. Elite sport demands the same. Today everything is shaped by technology, but in my era, so much still rested on savoir-faire.” Asked what it means to be a Chanel woman, she was characteristically economical: “A Chanel woman is a woman of her time: a free woman, with character.” And when we asked how her relationship with fashion had evolved across a career that took her from a small town to state receptions, she described it with real warmth: “I started out as a young girl who dressed simply. Then my career opened doors: receptions in Monaco, evenings at the Élysée, alongside heads of state, and I learned to choose refined, elegant pieces that I wore for the occasion. I loved it. Even now, I still have moments that call for dressing up. I sometimes bring out pieces of excellent quality, rarely worn, and give them new life. This winter, I brought back my old gloves and scarf and dressed them with a touch of modernity. It was a great success.”

The boxer Imane Khelif arrived at the Chanel front row as an Olympic gold medallist and as a woman who has weathered an extraordinary volume of public scrutiny and misinformation along the way. She has answered that noise with continued advocacy, including working as a UNICEF ambassador. On whether haute couture's discipline speaks to her own, she was unequivocal: “These values are at the heart of my life as an athlete. Boxing has taught me that excellence comes from discipline, dedication, and years of hard work. Every detail matters, whether it's perfecting a technique in the ring or creating a haute couture piece. I see the same pursuit of excellence in both worlds, and that's something I deeply respect.” Her sense of the Chanel woman drew a direct line to her own life: “To me, a Chanel woman is confident, independent, and authentic. She doesn't follow expectations; she defines her own path while remaining elegant and true to herself. I admire how Chanel celebrates strength and femininity together. Those are values I also try to embody, both as an athlete and as a woman.” And on whether fashion is an extension of her practice or an escape from it, she offered both: “Fashion is an extension of my personality because it allows me to express confidence, discipline, and individuality differently. At the same time, it allows me to step away from the intensity of competition and explore another side of myself. In boxing, I express myself through movement and performance; in fashion, I express myself through style and creativity.”

Euzhan Palcy was the first Black woman to direct a film for a major Hollywood studio, the first to win a César and the first to win a Silver Lion at Cannes. She was mentored early by François Truffaut and later by Robert Redford, and is perhaps best known for her 1983 debut Sugar Cane Alley. Her answers had the clarity of someone who has spent a career insisting her vision be taken seriously on its own terms: “Devotion to craft, expertise, discipline – and I will add determination and tenacity – have been my motto from day one. That is how I was able to achieve what I did. And it's not over yet!” Asked what it means to be a Matthieu Blazy Chanel woman, she gave what might be the most complete answer: “Being a Chanel woman to me means carrying yourself with purpose. Being curious, free, soft and strong, but mostly having the courage to remain authentic to herself. She is graceful and understands that her elegance is not only carried by her style, but also her intelligence, her convictions, confidence, and freedom to be. She leads, she opens doors and is not afraid to challenge conventions.” And on how fashion fits into her cinematic eye, she described it as inseparable from storytelling itself: “I love and want everything in my movies to contribute to the narrative. The environment my characters are in, their outfits and their colours, the way they move - all of this will tell you about their truth! Who they are, and more…”