Chanel Brings Golden-Hour Glamour to Lake Como for Its Cruise 2026 Show
Staged at the famed Villa d’Este, Chanel’s Cruise 2025/26 show was a cinematic ode to Italian craftsmanship and summer escapes.
Think of the latest Chanel cruise collection as a palate cleanser—a clean interlude after Virginie Viard’s departure from the house and before Matthieu Blazy’s first outing, which will be shown this fall in Paris. The Chanel design team headed to Lake Como in order to highlight its longstanding relationships with Italian artisans. Chanel’s patronage of craftspeople in France is well known; in the 1950s, Gabrielle Chanel herself famously started working with the shoemaker Massaro, the flower specialist Lemarié, and the goldsmith Goossens. Desrue, experts in jewelry, fashion accessories, and buttons, joined the group three decades later. But since then, Chanel has also formed partnerships with other specialized manufacturers across Europe; key among them are, to mention just two, the shoemakers Roveda and the silk label Mantera, both of which are based in the Lake Como region.
Their work was highlighted in this collection. Shown in the legendary lakeside hotel Villa d’Este, with a soundtrack of classic Italian favorites by the likes of Pati Pravo and Mina, the 2026 resort collection brought to mind an updated Dolce Vita fantasy. Special guests like Sofia Coppola, Lupita Nyong’o, Fernanda Torres, and Margaret Qualley were seated in a civilized al fresco café-like setting to take in the striped dresses, lightweight tweeds, and delicately ruffled and embroidered party frocks. Accessories included woven totes, tiny bejeweled minaudieres, and flirty colorful mules just this side of cha-cha. Patterned silk foulards were worn on the head, as ankle fasteners for shoes, and tied on bag straps or at the wrist. It’s not easy to make clothes that are both effortlessly carefree and utterly sophisticated, but for Chanel, it’s just another day at one of the world’s most glamorous resort destinations.
Below, a closer look.
Keira Knightley was among the show’s guests.
Margaret Qualley, Lupita Nyong'o, Nana Komatsu.
Fernanda Torres
Sofia Coppola directed both the teaser of the cinematic show (seen below) and its corresponding short film.
