Matthieu Blazy’s A/W 2026 show for Chanel drew on the natural world’s most dramatic story of transformation – that of the caterpillar and the butterfly. ‘Chanel is a paradox. Chanel is function, Chanel is fiction. Chanel is sensible, Chanel is seductive. Chanel is day, Chanel is night. It represents the freedom to choose between the caterpillar and the butterfly whenever you want,’ he said. ‘I wish to create a canvas for women to be unapologetically who they are and who they want to be.’
Indeed, the collection itself, which at the time we called a ‘fashion pick-and-mix’, moved between restraint and abandon, like its shimmering final act, where models emerged from the metaphorical chrysalis with metallic or mermaid-hued hair to the sounds of Lady Gaga’s Just Dance. It seemed to encapsulate the mood of the A/W 2026 season, one which mined fashion’s transformative power – from Prada, where models removed a layer each time they left the catwalk to reveal a whole new look, to the theatrical flair of Givenchy, Dior and Valentino. Or, indeed, the sultry glamour of Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent, where a reimagined version of Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘Le Smoking’ tuxedo seemed to have the power to change its wearer into someone else entirely.
Dress, £2,800, by Roberto Cavalli. Earrings, £830, by Chanel
It was in this spirit that photographers Antoine & Charlie and Wallpaper* fashion and creative director Jason Hughes approached our A/W 2026 September Style Issue cover shoot, which sees Australian model Aylah Peterson try on a series of personae in the A/W 2026 season’s most transformative looks. ‘We were really thinking about clothing’s power to forge a new identity; how a garment can entirely change the way that you feel, and act,’ says Hughes. ‘It required the incredible Aylah to be a real shape-shifter on set as she became a series of different versions of herself, with the help of our hair and make-up artists, Chris Sweeney and Megumi Matsuno.’
‘Another theme of the shoot was the idea of looking, or being looked at – and revelling in that feeling,’ he continues. ‘We shot the story at Landing Forty Two in the City of London, an event space on the 42nd floor of Leadenhall Building, here a stand-in for a corporate office block. Some of the images were treated to appear like Aylah was being caught on CCTV, while in others, she’s picked up the camera herself.
‘The clothing was chosen to be high impact throughout – silhouettes are dramatic, while a feeling of sensuality comes through in the textures, which include silk, lace and shearling.’
See more from the shoot below.
Top, £2,400; trousers, £2,600; sunglasses, £375, all by Gucci
Dress, £1,835, by Ferragamo
Top, £819, by Loro Piana. Skirt, £3,350, by Khaite. Shoes, price on request, by Dior. Tights, £25, by Falke
Coat, £6,900, by Emporio Armani. Shoes, £1,050, by Ferragamo. Earrings, price on request, by Valentino Garavani. Tights, £25, by Falke
Dress, price on request, by Dior
Dress, £3,500, by Alaïa
Bustier, £6,800; skirt, £650, both by Issey Miyake
Dress; dress (underneath), both price on request, by Dolce & Gabbana. Earrings, £830, by Chanel
Dress, £1,600, by Numeroventuno by Alessandro Dell’Acqua. Shoes, £970, by Alaïa. Tights, £25, by Falke
Jacket, £9,660, by Chanel
Coat, price on request, by Balenciaga. Shoes, £970, by Alaïa
Jacket, £2,910; trousers, £1,365, both by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
A version of this article appears in the September 2026 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, available now in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.
Model: Aylah at Premier Model Management. Casting: Suun Consulting. Hair: Chris Sweeney at One Represents using Sisley. Make-up: Megumi Matsuno at Of Substance using Chanel Summer’s Calling and No.1 de Chanel Body Serum-In-Mist. Manicure: Ella Vivii at The Only Agency. Digi tech: Olivia Estebanez. Photography assistants: Ugo Reyre, Tom Porter. Fashion assistants: Nathan Fox, Bonnie Bowley. Set assistant: Archie Thomson Production assistants: Danielle Quigley, Max Mazower. Retouching: SparkPost Studio
Film credits. Directors: Antoine & Charlie. Fashion: Jason Hughes. Director of Photography: Guillaume Périmony. Editor: Dmitry Khmelnitsky. Colour grade: Chrisrémy Berrefjord at TMLS.
Our fashion story was shot at Landing Forty Two in the City of London. Managed by event property firm Spaces & Stories, it sits within the RSHP-designed Leadenhall Building (affectionately known as The Cheesegrater), and exemplifies the quality and design flair found in Spaces & Stories’ curated collection of extraordinary venues, spacesstories.com.