I never miss a chance to get in the sea.
On the sun-warmed terraces of Biarritz, Chanel chose a storied Art Deco casino to stage its cruise 2027 collection — a setting that invited the past and present to converse. Creative director Matthieu Blazy's vision drew luminaries from Nicole Kidman to Tilda Swinton and A$AP Rocky, each arriving not merely as spectators but as participants in a living argument about what enduring style means across generations. The house, which first opened its doors in this very town more than a century ago, seemed to be reminding the world that fashion, at its most honest, is less about novelty than about continuity.
- Biarritz transformed overnight into a stage where fashion, celebrity, and local life collided — onlookers crowded the casino's approaches hoping for a glimpse of the arriving guests.
- Nicole Kidman dissolved the boundary between ambassador and resident, swimming in the Atlantic and trading selfies with market vendors, making the spectacle feel unexpectedly human.
- A$AP Rocky stood on a terrace above the beach cradling a pink Chanel bag and baby shoe charms — a gift from Blazy that he planned to pass to his daughter, turning runway symbolism into private tenderness.
- Tilda Swinton, freshly returned from a Sri Lanka film collaboration, deflected both a Voldemort casting rumor and the suggestion she play Coco Chanel herself, insisting the founder was already present through the work.
- Blazy's collection landed as a quiet argument for wearability over spectacle, earning praise from Kidman for its cross-generational reach and from Rocky for its thoughtful, personal gestures.
Biarritz stirred the moment Chanel announced it would bring its cruise 2027 show to the town's Art Deco casino — a venue carrying its own history, given that Coco Chanel opened her first couture house here in 1915. The day unfolded in two sessions: Marion Cotillard and Sofia Coppola anchored the morning, while Nicole Kidman, A$AP Rocky, Michaela Coel, and Tilda Swinton arrived for the afternoon.
Kidman had already woven herself into the town's rhythms the night before, lingering at the covered food market, posing for selfies with residents, and speaking with genuine delight about the local produce. She swam in the Atlantic both the morning of the show and the evening prior, describing the sea as an irresistible pull. Her relationship with Chanel spans more than two decades, but she spoke about Matthieu Blazy's direction with fresh conviction — praising the collection's comfort and wearability without sacrificing elegance, and noting that the appeal had spread to her niece and daughter alike. The contrast with her current work was sharp: she is preparing for an Apple TV series in which she plays a former professional wrestler, a role that has left her bruised and newly respectful of the sport's physical demands.
After the show, A$AP Rocky was found on a terrace overlooking the beach, holding a pink Chanel bag and baby shoe charms that Blazy had given him as a personal gift — the same pieces that had appeared on the runway. He planned to pass the shoes to his daughter. Still absorbing the sight of his infant Rocki on a magazine cover, he described himself simply as a happy father. His concert tour, supporting his first album in eight years, begins in May, and he said the mental preparation — the first and hardest phase — was still underway.
Tilda Swinton, returning from a Sri Lanka collaboration with director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, laughed off Ralph Fiennes's suggestion that she play Voldemort in HBO's Harry Potter series. Asked whether she might one day portray Coco Chanel herself, she declined with quiet firmness: she had too much respect for the designer, she said, and besides, Chanel was already playing herself — continuously — through everyone who carried her vision forward.
Biarritz was buzzing the moment word got out that Chanel had chosen the town's Art Deco casino for its cruise 2027 show. The announcement alone was enough to draw a crowd of onlookers eager to catch glimpses of arriving guests, and the house did not disappoint in delivering them. The day unfolded across two presentations, with Marion Cotillard and Sofia Coppola anchoring the morning session while Nicole Kidman, A$AP Rocky, Michaela Coel, and Tilda Swinton made their way through the afternoon.
The night before the show, Kidman had already become part of the local fabric. She attended a welcome cocktail at the town's covered food market, where she lingered long enough to pose for selfies with delighted residents. The Australian actress spoke with genuine warmth about the experience, describing the market's abundance of cheese, vegetables, and produce with the kind of wonder that suggested she was only half-joking when she said she wanted to move there. She had visited Biarritz before and holidayed there in the past, but something about this visit felt different—more intimate, more real.
The sea called to her repeatedly. She swam the morning of the show and again the night before, unable to resist the pull of the water even as she sat on the terrace in a backless black dress, conscious of her fair skin and the spring sun. "I never miss a chance to get in the sea," she said simply. Her relationship with Chanel stretches back more than two decades, anchored by her iconic 2004 campaign for No. 5, but she spoke about creative director Matthieu Blazy's vision with the enthusiasm of someone newly convinced. Everything felt exquisitely made, she said—comfortable and wearable, yet undeniably chic. Her family had caught the fever too. Her niece, her daughter, everyone around her had fallen for Chanel, and she saw in Blazy's approach an expansion that reached across generations.
Kidman's current project offered a sharp contrast to the refined world of luxury fashion. She is working on an Apple TV series called "Margo's Got Money Troubles," playing a former professional wrestler, a role that demanded physical training and a wardrobe of deliberately gaudy outfits. The preparation had left her bruised but educated. She described wrestling as performative in a way that bordered on circus—rigorous, demanding, requiring genuine physical conditioning. The ropes hurt when you hit them, she said with a rueful laugh, a discovery she had made the hard way.
After the show, Kidman found time to catch up with A$AP Rocky, who was leaning against a terrace railing overlooking the beach, waving to onlookers below. The rapper and musician was holding a pink Chanel bag with matching baby shoe charms—pieces that had also appeared on the runway, worn by pregnant model Kaya Wilkins. Rocky explained that Matthieu Blazy had given him the items as a gift, a gesture he found deeply thoughtful. He planned to pass the baby shoes along to his daughter. The father of three children with Rihanna, including six-month-old Rocki, was still processing the surreal experience of his infant's recent magazine cover for W. "Cute overload," he said, his joy unguarded. "I was just a happy dad."
Rocky is preparing for a concert tour that begins in Oakland in May, following the release of his first album in eight years, "Don't Be Dumb." He spoke about the layered preparation required—mental first, then physical, then sonic and creative. He was still in the mental phase, he said, which meant the real work was just beginning. Tilda Swinton, meanwhile, had just returned from Sri Lanka, where she had begun collaborating with Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul on an unnamed project. When asked about Ralph Fiennes's recent suggestion that she would make an excellent Voldemort in HBO's upcoming "Harry Potter" series, she dismissed it with a laugh—"Madman," she called him—and offered no further commentary.
The question of whether Swinton might one day play Coco Chanel, the designer who opened her first couture house in Biarritz in 1915, drew a firm but gracious refusal. She had too much respect for Chanel to take on the role, she said. The designer was already playing herself, continuously, through the work of those who carried her vision forward. It was a fitting note on which to end the day—a reminder that Chanel, the house, had become something larger than any single person, even its founder.
Citações Notáveis
Everything is so exquisitely made and so comfortable and wearable, and yet chic.— Nicole Kidman on Matthieu Blazy's creative direction
Cute overload. I was just a happy dad.— A$AP Rocky on his infant daughter's magazine cover
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a fashion house choose a specific city for a cruise show? What's the calculation?
It's partly logistics, partly mythology. Biarritz has history—Coco opened her first house there in 1915. But it's also about creating an experience, a pilgrimage. When you announce the location, people start imagining themselves there. The buzz builds before anyone even arrives.
Kidman seems genuinely enchanted by the place, not just performing for cameras. How much of that is real?
I think it's both. She's a professional who knows how to be present for a moment, but the details she mentions—the cheese, the vegetables, wanting to move there—those feel like actual observations. She's someone who pays attention to texture and place.
She talks about Blazy's direction with real conviction. Is that because she believes it, or because she's a brand ambassador?
Probably both again. But she's specific about what she likes—wearable, comfortable, chic. Not generic praise. And she notices that it's reaching her niece, her daughter. That's not something you'd invent. That's a real observation about how fashion moves through families.
Rocky seems almost giddy about fatherhood. Does that surprise you in a fashion context?
It does, actually. He's at a fashion show, he's a brand ambassador, but what he wants to talk about is his baby's magazine cover and the shoes he's going to give his daughter. That's not calculated. That's just a man who's genuinely happy.
Swinton's refusal to play Coco Chanel—is that respectful or evasive?
It's both, but I think it's genuinely respectful. She's saying Coco is still alive in the work, in the house itself. That's not a dodge. That's a philosophy about legacy.