Chanel Takes a Cruise to Singapore

The restaging of the 2025/2026 show marks the brand's first return here in 12 years

- Amanda Chai

French fashion house Chanel has chosen Singapore to restage its 2025/26 Cruise show, which was first unveiled in Lake Como, Italy on April 29.

The replica show will take place at an undisclosed location on Nov 4, in a signal of the luxury brand's continued investment in the city-state.

Mr Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel's president of fashion, says Singapore was chosen for its visibility in South-east Asia and is an "important hub in our development".

Speaking exclusively to The Straits Times over video call, he adds: "At Chanel, we love Singapore. Singapore is one of the cities of Chanel — we have a strong, loyal base of customers that has been increasing in the past 30 years."

The Cruise 2025/2026 collection show in Singapore will be a by-invitation-only event.

Outside the official fashion show calendar, Cruise collections began as a way to offer European clients a wardrobe suitable for winter travel, or to meet the needs of customers in warmer climates.

Namesake founder Gabrielle Chanel is widely credited as the designer who invented the concept of the Cruise show.

In the late autumn of 1919, she presented a small collection of light dresses and knits to suit her lifestyle and that of her clients who frequented seaside resorts, notably Deauville and Biarritz in France, and Monte Carlo in Monaco.

Noting its historical significance, Cruise — along with Metiers d'Art, an annual collection celebrating the art of craftsmanship — is one of two off-season "unique moments only for Chanel, where we can highlight the creativity of the brand in a very special location", says Mr Pavlovsky.