L'Officiel | This Season, Classic American Styles Got 21st Century Makeovers

For its annual Métiers d’Art show last December, Chanel’s new Creative Director, Matthieu Blazy, brought the iconic French brand to America via train—the New York City subway, more specifically. Set in a vacant subway station in downtown Manhattan, the runway show was an exhilarating, cinematic homage to the city and its diverse cast of characters, any of whom might be simultaneously waiting on the same train platform.

For Blazy, the show was a nostalgic reflection on his time in New York while working at Calvin Klein. Beyond the setting, the collection itself nodded to American ease and practicality with chic, workwear-style overshirts in bouclé made to look like denim and plaid, and relaxed-fitting jeans made from silk and paired with T-shirts layered under the brand’s trademark tweedy jackets.

Blazy’s personal references aside, American fashion has long been defined by themes and archetypes—denim, workwear, prep, for example—that designers both U.S.–based and abroad continually mine and reimagine. This season was especially rich, with creative reinterpretations from brands such as Willy Chavarria, Prada, and Dior. Read the full story here.