Fashion travels to hyper-attractive locations through the destination shows, with elite guests and sets with cinematic appeal to seal the one-of-a-kind experience
Words DOMENICO COSTANTINI
A new season of Cruise shows has begun, seeing the world’s biggest brands travel to far-flung locales to show their latest offerings this May and June – a tradition originating from the collections created by Parisian fashion houses for the holidaying classes in the early 20th century. This season, Cruise 2024 locations will span Isola Bella on Italy’s Lake Maggiore Louis Vuitton, Los Angeles’ Paramount Studios Chanel, Mexico City Dior and Seoul Gucci, among others. As ever, expect dramatic sets, colourful collections and star-packed front rows. Here, in an ongoing round-up, is the best of the globe-trotting Cruise 2024 season.
On Isola Bella – a small private island on Italy’s Lake Maggiore – Nicolas Ghesquière presented his latest Cruise collection for the house, set amid the hallways of the 17th-century Palazzo Borromeo (originally, the show was meant to be held in the island’s famed floating gardens; due to the downpour, it was moved indoors). The mythic nature of the island – transformed by Carlo III of the House of Borromeo as a gift for his wife – inspired a dreamlike collection, which looked towards tales of mermaids and dragons (‘drifting creatures that abandon aquatic dwellings for the discovery of terrestrial wonders,’ as the notes described). Reimagined in Ghesquière’s idiosyncratic, time-travelling style, the collection was one of transformation: scuba jackets and skirts had reptilian flares, feathers sported from enormous headdresses, and paillette-covered skirts shimmered like fish scales. Nods to the overwhelming beauty of the Baroque surroundings came in a slew of evening dresses which closed the show, replete with enormous sleeves and delicate fronds of tulle – as if mermaids emerging from the deep.
In 1947, Christian Dior created a dress titled ’Mexico’, the beginning of a little-documented but longstanding relationship between his eponymous house and the country – in 1950, he would beginning selling his clothing at Mexico City’s El Palacio de Hierro (Mexican actress María Félix was an early adopter and ambassador), and later, his successor Marc Bohan would show collections at Camino Real hotel. Maria Grazia Chiuri forged her own links with the county, holding her latest Cruise collection in Mexico City’s Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso. The former school was chosen for its historic association with Frida Kahlo, who studied there as a youth and met long-term partner, artist and mentor Diego Rivera. In its hallways Kahlo’s influence was evident across the collection through its vivid motifs of flora and fauna, while other garments were drawn from those the artist wore in her lifetime. A multitude of local craftspeople contributed to the intricately imagined collection, from Sna Jolobil weavers to jewellery made using the Plata Villa workshops in Mexico City. ‘A constellation of places that spark emotions – this is what Mexico is to Maria Grazia Chiuri,’ said Dior. ‘A place of the soul.’
Gyeongbokgung Palace, a 14th-century royal residence in Seoul built by Korea’s Joseon dynasty, provided the setting for Gucci’s latest cruise show. Doubling as a celebration of the Italian house’s longstanding links with South Korea – it first opened a store in Seoul in 1998, and has undertaken numerous projects in the country since, from restaurants to arts and cultural happenings – the collection itself was a vivid amalgam of influences, a reflection the ‘expressions of multicultural style found’ on the buzzing city’s streets. Designed by the in-house creative team, it followed the high-octane rationale of the womenswear collection presented in Milan in February – with its clear nods to Tom Ford’s tenure in the 1990s. Here, though, a sportier feel to proceedings – notably, in the sinuous line of a series of hybrid looks inspired by the wetsuits worn by the windsurfers and jet-skiers of Seoul’s Han River. Several of the looks even came with matching Gucci-emblazoned surfboards, while archival bags were playfully reimagined in colourful scuba.
Gyeongbokgung Palace, a 14th-century royal residence in Seoul built by Korea’s Joseon dynasty, provided the setting for Gucci’s latest cruise show. Doubling as a celebration of the Italian house’s longstanding links with South Korea – it first opened a store in Seoul in 1998, and has undertaken numerous projects in the country since, from restaurants to arts and cultural happenings – the collection itself was a vivid amalgam of influences, a reflection the ‘expressions of multicultural style found’ on the buzzing city’s streets. Designed by the in-house creative team, it followed the high-octane rationale of the womenswear collection presented in Milan in February – with its clear nods to Tom Ford’s tenure in the 1990s. Here, though, a sportier feel to proceedings – notably, in the sinuous line of a series of hybrid looks inspired by the wetsuits worn by the windsurfers and jet-skiers of Seoul’s Han River. Several of the looks even came with matching Gucci-emblazoned surfboards, while archival bags were playfully reimagined in colourful scuba.
A vast recreation of a basketball court at Los Angeles’ Paramount Studios – decorated with the house’s double-C motif and featuring a scoreboard which pitted Los Angeles against Paris – provided the setting for Chanel’s latest Cruise collection. Here, Lagerfeld‘s successor Virginie Viard took centre stage with a playful collection that paid ode to colourful Californian tropes, from riffs on 1980s workout-wear. The ease of American sportswear ran throughout – whether in shimmering sweatpant-style trousers, 1980s-tinged short-sleeved tailoring, cut-off denim, or lamé swimsuits (leg-warmers completed the look). ‘A tribute to the glamour of great film stars… evoking the world of fun to be had with aerobics, sports and roller skating,’ said Viard of the collection, which culminated with a performance from West Coast native Snoop Dogg. ‘The idea is to offer a breath of fresh air, a voyage, a light-hearted and happy fantasy.’
