Chanel’s cruise caravane touched down today on the shores of Lake Como, one of the most romantic, scenic manifestations of Italian #dolcevita. Unshaken by luxury’s shifting tides, the French house went all in on cinematic glamour, framing the Studio de Création-designed collection within the old-world charm of Hotel Villa d’Este. (Matthieu Blazy’s debut as Chanel’s new artistic director is set for the ready-to-wear season in Paris this October.)
Coco Chanel herself fell for Italy in 1920, when she first traveled with friends Misia and José Maria Sert to Venice, a city whose gilded Byzantine splendor spoke to her taste for opulence. In the 1930s, Luchino Visconti hosted the imperious couturière at the grand Villa Erba, nestled in his family’s Cernobbio estate on Lake Como. The director and the designer shared a devotion to presentation—lavish yet exacting, unconventional and soignée, apparently effortless, but rooted in aristocratic polish. Avoiding nostalgia or overt references, the new cruise collection unfolded as a chic yet easygoing, summery remix, evoking the Italian resort lifestyle, but crafted with French savoir-faire and finesse.
Framed by two white ensembles—a peignoir-style robe manteau ready for the beach and a sinuous evening gown in liquid satin—the lineup centered on imaginative daywear. A sun-washed palette evoked the terracotta hues of Villa D’Este’s walls and the soft pastels of wisteria festooning its spectacular gardens, with added dashes of bougainvillea and camellia. Shimmer flashed on a fluid pajama set rendered in matte-gold cloqué and in a daring backless jumpsuit of pink and orange striped lamé, layered under an entrance-making matching cape. Sequined trimmings added pizzazz to a classic lilac tweed suit, shown over a blouse with a paillette volant, while macramé, crochet, and intricate lace brought textured depth to short, svelte silhouettes of the kind Romy Schneider, dressed by Chanel in Visconti’s episode of Boccaccio ’70, once wore. The finale’s black evening gowns in rustling taffeta radiated a rather dramatic, sultry glow.
Surrounded by a whirlwind of Chanel-clad celebrities—among them Sofia Coppola and her husband Thomas Mars, Lupita Nyong’o, Keira Knightley, Margaret Qualley, and Anna Mouglalis—Chanel’s President Bruno Pavlovsky called out the collaborative achievement of the Studio de Création, a team trained under the guidance of Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard.
“Matthieu Blazy will be working with part of that same team,” he noted. “From October, he’ll be involved in every decision. But Chanel stands above all—above any individual designer. What we learned from Karl and Virginie is the importance of the Chanel silhouette, the clarity of Chanel style—and keeping that alive, meaningful, and strong will be Matthieu’s next mission. Still,” he went on, “no designer, no matter how talented, can do it alone. He must lead with his vision, but it’s the strength of the team that brings collections to life. Chanel’s codes are powerful, but what’s exciting is injecting them with energy and sparkle. They must evolve, not remain static. We want Matthieu to bring his energy, his vision, and his spark to the house.”