How far would you travel to shop a Spring 2026 bag you absolutely had to have? In a video with over one million views on Instagram, Elle Ferguson says it's 30 hours. For the clothing and skincare brand founder, Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy's debut takes on the classic flap bag and cap-toe pumps warranted a trip from Sydney, Australia, to Paris. It's almost a given that she's willing to pay at least $11,000 for one of the largest Chanel totes she tried on in her video.Ferguson is one of several fashion people—stylists, editors, content creators, and so on—who've taken a break from Paris Fashion Week's official programming this March for a Chanel boutique side-quest. All week, clips taken at Chanel's 31 Rue Cambon flagship or its Galleries Lafayette outpost have rivaled front-row videos snapped at Celine, Dior, and McQueen. The Cutting Room Floor podcast host Recho Omondi followed editors from several influential magazines and Substacks as they sampled intentionally distressed flap bags and two-tone heels. Stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson dedicated an edition of her newsletter, Brain Matter, to sharing her group chat's efforts to shop the collection before it sold out. (Spoiler: It did.)
