«I love everything that is above: the sky, the moon, I believe in the stars.» said Gabrielle Chanel. And it’s by looking at the sky that Matthieu Blazy chose to build his first show for Chanel, a runway suspended between dream and universe, like a hymn to what he believes the maison is: «We all observe the same sky, and I think it provokes the same emotions in us.» A simple, poetic idea made tangible by the set design by Bureau Betak, which transformed the Grand Palais Éphémère into an emotional cosmos, a place out of time where the maison wants to once again feel like a living entity firmly rooted in the present. It’s not the first time we’ve talked about this studio and today, three years later, we’ll try to understand where this pervasive yet fascinating reality stands.
It’s hard today to imagine a fashion week without the invisible yet unmistakable signature of Bureau Betak. The studio founded in 1990 by Alexandre de Betak — whom the New York Times dubbed “fashion’s Fellini” — continues to be the absolute reference point for the dialogue between fashion and space. For thirty years it has reinvented how brands tell their collections, turning runways into total works of art where lights, architecture, and performance become languages of the same vision.
The Spring/Summer 2026 season confirms it: almost every show that captured the public’s attention carries something of its imagery. After Chanel, Bureau Betak crafted high-impact sets for Alaïa Winter–Spring 26, Isabel Marant SS26, Fendi SS26, and Burberry Summer 2026, continuing to move on a balance between theatricality and minimalism. From Bottega Veneta to Victoria Beckham, from YSL by Anthony Vaccarello to the men’s show YSL Men’s Summer 26 at the Bourse in Paris, the studio seems to orchestrate a visual constellation that spans every fashion capital.
Then there’s Jacquemus, which staged “Le Paysan” at Versailles, a rural dream between rigor and fantasy; and Off-White™ “Pop Romance”, where Bureau Betak presented an ironic, pop romanticism, as visual as a music video. Each show tells an autonomous universe, yet behind the scenes you can always sense the same philosophy: the desire to build sensory experiences that amplify the brand’s message.
by Anthony Vaccarello
by Anthony Vaccarello
In this landscape, the studio’s role is no longer that of a mere “decorator” or set designer, but of a visual storyteller. Bureau Betak appears to have redefined the language of luxury by turning space into an extension of brand identity, a storytelling medium capable of synthesizing aesthetics, message, and emotion. As a recent Wallpaper* article also noted, today the studio’s work is carried forward collectively by Bénédicte Fournier Beckmann, Paco Raynal, and Guillaume Troncy, who lead creative and production teams across Paris, New York, Los Angeles, and Shanghai, continuing Alexandre de Betak’s legacy with the same poetic and methodical vision. Their “currency,” writes Wallpaper*, «is emotion and memory» — elements no render can reproduce, because they belong to the human language of wonder.
Beyond artistic direction, Bureau Betak was among the first studios to take the issue of sustainability in the world of luxury events seriously. In 2020 it became the first to obtain ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management, and with the Better Betak platform — launched in 2022 — it shares solutions and practices for a more responsible approach to production. A move that confirms how the future of spectacle, even in fashion, depends on a balance between aesthetic impact and environmental awareness.
Today more than ever, fashion proves it lives on atmosphere. Collections are remembered not only for what they show, but for how they’re shown. And in this game of scenography, Bureau Betak seems to hold absolute direction: able to turn every runway into a fragment of a dream, every space into a story that lingers well beyond the time of the show — as, quite simply, the comments under this Chanel post show.
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