An Italian Affair

Chanel's latest cruise collection pays homage to 1960s cinematic glamour while celebrating its enduring relationships with Italian artisans

- Ahy Choi

With the advent of spring, Lake Como awakens from its winter dormancy. Hotels, resorts, restaurants and the charming villages along the shores of Italy's third-largest lake began preparing to welcome the global elite for long weekends and summer sojourns. This April, the most glamorous members of the lake crowd were dressed in the codes of a French fashion house: Chanel.

It has become something of a tradition in the fashion world for brands to showcase their resort or cruise collections each spring and early summer at far-flung or highly exclusive destinations. Italy is naturally favoured by many brands, yet it is rare for Lake Como, a secluded retreat just 40 minutes by train from Milan, to host such events.

"It took us two years just to secure a four-day window at Villa d'Este to prepare for this show," says Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel, on the morning of the 2025/26 cruise collection presentation. We met Pavlovsky at the show venue: Villa d’Este, a 16th-century royal residence that is now one of Lake Como’s most prestigious hotels. “When we saw the magical light on the lake this morning, it was worth the wait.”