Chanel will show the Cruise 2026 collection on Lake Como in April

BIG LAKE: Chanel may not have a creative director, but the brand is moving forward with plans for its next cruise show.

First up, the French fashion brand announced on Thursday that its destination show is scheduled for April 29 and will take place against the tranquil backdrop of Lake Como in Italy, but further details about the venue are still under wraps.

With its spectacular villas, Lake Como is a magnet for A-list celebrities and an increasingly popular spot for luxury brands to host events there.

Last year, Dior presented his high-end jewelry collection at Villa Erba in Cernobbio, while Rhuigi Villaseñor recently presented his Rhude men’s collection in the lush gardens of Villa D’Este, an opulent Renaissance palace-turned-luxury hotel.

Chanel had originally hoped to host a cruise show in Italy in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the company to cancel the planned event in Capri.

This year the event took place in the southern French city of Marseille, signaling a desire to appeal to a younger, diversity-sensitive clientele. Poor online reaction to Virginie Viard’s collection, presented at Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse residential project, contributed to the designer’s sudden departure in June.

Under its late creative director Karl Lagerfeld, the Rue Cambon house was a pioneer in staging traveling exhibitions and over the years has expanded its cruise collection to New York City, Venice, Singapore, Dubai, Seoul, Havana, Monaco and Los Angeles.

“The Chanel cruise show is more than an invitation to travel, it is an encounter with the energy and uniqueness of a destination whose inspiring art of living makes the whole world dream,” it said in a statement.