More often than not, hosting a Cruise fashion show offers a chance for luxury brands to present their collections in a spectacular setting beyond the fashion capitals. For example: last season, Max Mara took over a palace in Venice to showcase its idea of opulence, while Chanel’s collection was soaked with the coastal charm of Marseille. Dior, meanwhile, headed to Scotland for its presentation, which accounts for all the tartan that was seen on the runway. Louis Vuitton is another fashion house that paid homage to a city—specifically, Barcelona, whose distinctive architecture was interpreted through standout suits, sculptural dresses and covetable bags.
What can we expect from the Cruise 2026 fashion shows? For an idea, we list all the destinations where fashion brands have chosen to unveil their collections next year.
Chanel Goes To Lake Como
Lake Como has long served as a retreat for affluent travellers, with its stunning villas, snow-capped mountains and charming towns. Come April 29, 2025, the picture-perfect Italian destination will serve as the picture-perfect setting of Chanel’s Cruise 2026 runway show. In a statement, the maison shared, “More than an invitation to travel, the Chanel Cruise show is an encounter with the energy and singularity of a destination whose inspirational art de vivre makes the whole world dream.” This much was the case for Chanel’s Cruise 2025 presentation in Marseille, which was staged shortly before the departure of designer Virginie Viard from the French luxury brand. The question of who will be Chanel’s next creative director remains unanswered, but clearly, the show must go on.
Gucci Returns To Florence
More than a century after Gucci was founded in Florence, the Italian fashion brand is having its homecoming. Its Cruise 2026 show, titled “Gucci Firenze”, is set to take place in Florence on May 15, 2025. It will certainly be a change of scenery from London, where creative director Sabato De Sarno presented his first Gucci Cruise collection to celebrities like Dua Lipa, Alia Bhatt, Davika Hoorne, and K-pop boyband Stray Kids. We can expect De Sarno to do things differently from his predecessor Alessandro Michele, who previously chose Florence’s Palazzo Pitti as the location of Gucci’s Cruise 2018 fashion show.
Dior Takes Rome
Maria Grazia Chiuri is honouring her roots by bringing Dior’s Cruise 2026 fashion show to Rome, the Italian capital city where she was born and raised. Although Chiuri has helmed the French fashion house and worked in Paris for close to a decade now, the designer remains a champion of Italian culture. For example, Dior’s Cruise 2021 presentation took place in Lecce—dubbed the “Florence of the South”—and paid tribute to the customs and traditional crafts of Puglia. Chiuri has also tapped fellow Italian creatives like SAGG Napoli and Marta Roberti to create art installations for Dior’s fashion shows. Dior’s Cruise 2026 show will be held in Rome on May 27, 2025. While the exact location hasn’t been revealed, it’s worth noting that Chiuri has purchased the Teatro della Cometa—a historic theatre in her hometown that opened in 1958—and is now overseeing its restoration. Ancient Roman culture will also make for a great source of inspiration for Chiuri, who recently reinterpreted ancient Grecian clothing for Dior’s Fall/Winter 2024 haute couture collection dedicated to the Olympics.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA Singapore.
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