CHANEL is returning to Biarritz, and doing so with intention. Ahead of its Cruise 2026/27 runway show on April 28, 2026, the maison has opened an ephemeral boutique at Villa de Larralde, 3-5 Rue Gardères, the exact address where Gabrielle Chanel opened her first couture house in 1915. The boutique will remain open to visitors until September 27, 2026, presenting the CHANEL COCO BEACH 2026 collection throughout the season.
A Historic Address Reactivated
Villa de Larralde is not simply a beautiful building; it is where CHANEL, as a fashion house, was truly born. Drawn to Biarritz by its elegance and the presence of an international clientele, royalty, artists, and European elites who gathered on the Basque coast during World War I, Gabrielle Chanel established her first workshop boutique outside Paris within the villa’s walls. At its peak, the atelier employed up to 60 seamstresses, and by 1918, across Paris, Deauville, and Biarritz combined, CHANEL employed 300 women workers.
The Collection on Display
The ephemeral boutique presents the CHANEL COCO BEACH 2026 collection, a line designed in direct dialogue with the spirit of Biarritz and its long association with a relaxed, sun drenched elegance. Drawing inspiration from the emblematic setting in which the couturière first introduced her collections, the presentation connects the maison’s earliest creative instincts to its current aesthetic direction. The choice of Biarritz for both the ephemeral boutique and the Cruise show marks a deliberate act of return, one that is as much about identity as it is about fashion.
A New Era, a Founding Address
The Cruise 2026/27 show on April 28 carries additional significance as one of the first major runway presentations under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy, who became CHANEL‘s fourth artistic director following the tenures of Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard. Staging the show in Biarritz, rather than at the Grand Palais or an international destination, signals a desire to root the new creative chapter in the house’s own history. For the first time, a public broadcast of the show was also planned for Biarritz, allowing residents to witness the event live.
Biarritz as a Living Reference
The relationship between CHANEL and Biarritz has always been more than geographical. It was here, on the Atlantic coast of southwestern France, that Gabrielle Chanel first translated her instinct for ease and modernity into a full couture offering, relaxed silhouettes, practical fabrics, and a sensibility shaped by the sea. The ephemeral boutique at Villa de Larralde is an acknowledgment that this history is not simply archival; it remains a living, generative part of what CHANEL continues to be.
