As you enter the newly renovated Chanel boutique on Flinders Lane in Melbourne, you’re met by a 16-metre-tall string of pearls that rises through the centre of a sculptural staircase, not unlike the mirrored one in Gabrielle Chanel’s historic Paris apartment on 31 Rue Cambon, where she would famously perch during shows to observe audience reactions without being seen.
Bordered by a wall of volcanic black tile on one side, and white crystallised glass-ceramic on another, the towering structure sways ever so slightly as people navigate the stairwell, with apertures drawing in light and changing the colour of the space as the day progresses.
Aptly titled Gigantic Gold Necklace, the artwork was commissioned from French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. Made of gold leaf and glass pearls, it recalls the sautoirs worn by Mademoiselle Chanel.
Every Chanel boutique doubles as a history lesson in the life of Chanel, but Flinders Lane is perhaps the closest to evoking the style and energy of her original home in Paris.
It’s among the most impressive Chanel boutiques in the South-East Asia region, and indeed the world, says Bruno Pavlovsky, unintentionally delivering a deathly blow to anyone who’s ever asserted Sydney’s position as top fashion dog.
“It’s the best boutique in Australia and probably the best boutique, or one of the best boutiques, for Chanel in the world,” the president of fashion at Chanel tells this masthead, while visiting Sydney for the Cruise 2026/27 Replica show, a restaging of creative director Mattieu Blazy’s debut cruise collection, first shown in Biarritz last April.
Sitting on a lounge with the Sydney Harbour Bridge peeking over his shoulder, Pavlovsky is amiable and surprisingly unguarded for a man who has helmed the fashion division of the world’s most influential luxury house since 2004.
“It’s a big statement for the brand,” Pavlovsky says of Flinders Lane, noting that the store is smaller, and has less foot traffic, than the Sydney flagship, but more intimate. “I like the small boutiques. They’re less intimidating and offer more depth.”
Split over four floors, the 1400-square-metre boutique unfurls as an intimate apartment setting, each level dedicated to a different aspect of the French house: iconic and newer bags, along with watches and fine jewellery, fill the ground floor; accessories (including a “shoe universe” that is the stuff of dreams) and ready-to-wear on the second; and more ready-to-wear and three private salons, where everything from the lighting to the curtains can be customised, on the third.
The white, black, gold and beige palette is punctuated by one-off interiors such as Pierre Paulin armchairs from the 1950s, an Edwardian writing desk and a sculptural bronze bench by Philippe Anthonioz.
There are also more than 50 works of collected and commissioned art. Gigantic Gold Necklace is joined by First Nations art, including an expansive black and white abstract painting by Warlpiri artist Dorothy Napangardi, depicting the sacred women’s site of Mina Mina, Northern Territory, which greets guests at the top floor.
‘It’s the best boutique in Australia and probably…one of the best boutiques for Chanel in the world.’Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel
The boutique was designed by architect and longtime Chanel collaborator Peter Marino to feel more like you’re being invited into someone’s fabulous home than shopping inside a retail store.
“The building is not that easy because it’s not very big, but it’s deep, so when we were working with Peter Marino, there were a lot of conversations about the right balance; if you want to maximise each floor, how do you structure it?” Pavlovsky says.
“What is super well done, and I hope successful, is that every floor brings a new surprise, something even more exciting.”
The year-long renovation followed Chanel parent company Mousse Investments’ 2024 purchase of the building for $75 million, reaffirming the Flinders Lane strip’s growing importance in Australia’s luxury market. The Spanish, LVMH-owned Loewe store sits opposite, and last year, rival French house Christian Dior bought the building and former Ivy nightclub across the street for $39 million.
The boutique is the latest example of Chanel betting big in Australia.
The week prior, the brand staged its annual Cruise 2026/27 Replica show at The Cutaway in Barangaroo, the first of its kind in Australia, where celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue sat alongside icons of sport (Cathy Freeman and Layne Beachley), art (Daniel Boyd and Jenny Kee) and 800 VICs (very important clients, whose annual spend exists somewhere between $25,000 and over $1 million).
It’s the latter – clad in head-to-toe Chanel looks, mostly from Blazy’s recent collections, and often sourced from different boutiques all over the world – who the show was really for.
Look past the social media feeds of fashion editors and influencers clamouring to post their shell necklace invitation, and you’ll understand that the show was about demonstrating the relevance of Chanel’s ready-to-wear offering to both local and international VICs, many of whom were flown in specially for the show.
Replica, though, was just the entrée for the main course of people being able to make an appointment the next day and secure their favourite looks.
“The replicas are super special because they are dedicated to one market … We’re not taking people from all over the globe; we are focusing on what’s happening here,” Pavlovksy says.
“We want to make it deep. Want to make it meaningful from a client perspective.”
Chanel also recently opened a temporary pop-up in Chatswood (a permanent one is slated to arrive 2028) and last year unveiled its largest boutique in Australia on Market Street in Sydney’s central business district, joining its shopfronts in Brisbane and Perth. In October, it launched the first Chanel & moi Les Ateliers in Australia, a care and repair atelier in Sydney which exists as a salon in Flinders Lane, where customers can get their beloved Chanel pieces repaired.
“Our continued investment in Australia – including the renovation and reopening of our Flinders Lane boutique in Melbourne – reflects Chanel’s enduring commitment to offering exceptional experiences,” says Vincent Darbo, managing director of Chanel Australia and New Zealand.
Indeed, for an island on the other side of the world, Australia has an outsized presence in the Chanel universe.
Kidman, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are all ambassadors, First Nations models such as Lahtalia Hicking and Tatyana Perry made history when they both had international runway debuts walking Blazy’s first Chanel show in 2025, while Australian modelling icons such as Emma Balfour and Julia Nobis are mainstays in Chanel campaigns and runways (Balfour’s son, Elliot, was even invited to one of Balfour’s Paris fittings).
‘Investment of this scale speaks to the strength of our customers and Australia’s importance as a fashion destination.’Marianne Perkovic, executive chair of the Australian Fashion Council.
But the relationship spans decades, dating back to when local design legend Kee’s distinctive (and unquestionably Australian) prints were used by Karl Lagerfeld in one of his first collections for the house back in the 80s.
“I remember the very first boutique being in David Jones, and it was a lot about selling bags, which is not really what the brand is about,” Pavlovsky says describing the evolution of Chanel’s presence in Australia.
It has focused on building out its boutiques to be able to offer more access to ready-to-wear, which is also why it staged the replica show when it did. That it chose Blazy’s debut cruise collection, steeped as it is in Chanel’s history and epitomising his ability to make exquisite craftsmanship seem effortless, is a sign of how serious it is about forging a deep connection to our shores.
“Australia is a relatively small market globally, so investment of this scale speaks to the strength of our customers and Australia’s importance as a fashion destination,” says Marianne Perkovic, executive chair of the Australian Fashion Council.
“It is also about the international attention this brings to our broader fashion industry … When global houses invest here, the whole industry benefits.”
In Flinders Lane, instantly recognisable cruise 2026/27 pieces, like the viral barefoot heel cap sandals and whimsical chilli-embellished costume jewellery, sit alongside the perfect button-down Charvet shirts and classic little black dress that any woman could make her own.
No doubt, many will. According to documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Chanel’s total revenue in Australia was $519.7 million for 2025.
“Mattheiu now joining the brand brings another level of excitement,” Pavlovsky says of Blazy’s impact.
“We need to create this emotional bond between the client, whoever she is, and the brand, where every morning when she’s choosing her clothes, she chooses Chanel.”
The writer travelled to Melbourne as a guest of Chanel.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
