This season’s collections offer escapism and a touch of glamour.
Chanel Cruise 2024-25
Chanel
Chanel’s 2024/25 Cruise collection was presented in the French town of Marseille, which has been closely linked to the house over the years. “The sun, architecture, music and dance: Marseille also has a very strong sense of freedom. I was inspired by the codes of lifestyle, of everyday life and by all the things that invite movement. The sea and the wind made me want to play with wetsuits,” said Virginie Viard in the show notes. The designer was inspired by the sea with embroideries including fish, fishing nets, shells and shellfish, which feature on suit jackets, waistcoats, faille blouses, T-shirts and little vest tops.
The inspiration of water continues with the reflections of sunlight on a swimming pool or the ocean. Glistening details and silvery reflections appear on neoprene-like jerseys, tweeds and sequinned jackets, while other tweeds and jerseys pick up the colours, grid motifs or geometric shapes of the facades of surrounding habitats for a long dress, tunics and even embroidered pockets.
Many items are decorated with the hood and press studs which are set to become signature design details, as well as revisiting the classic traits of the sweatshirt, offering its own version in fish-printed chiffon. Running Bermuda shorts trimmed with embroidered braid, tweed cycling shorts and oversized jackets complete a collection that embraces the dynamics of movement. The same wind of freedom blows over a white flounced skirt and a floral-embroidered sheath dress. Other highlights include swimwear which evokes a summery mood.
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2025 collection debuted in the Spanish city of Barcelona, a place synonymous with architecture. For the runway presentation of this collection, the brand chose Park Güell, an architectural utopia created by Antoni Gaudí and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The collection itself took inspiration from architecture and the surroundings, as well as deep-rooted connections to Spain and its culture and traditions. As if in homage to the opulent purity of the country, the Maison’s rigorous spirit embraces Spain’s passionate character.
The fervor of its colours, and its loyalty to tradition elevated into artistic expression, dark and light that never appear contradictory. In sum: a style, an art of traveling, enriched by the specialness of a different land and the way one makes it one’s own; a journey of discovery.
Max Mara
Staying true to its Italian roots, Max Mara travelled to Venice to present its Resort 2025 collection earlier this year. As one of the most magical cities in Europe, this settlement, built on a lagoon is unlike any other place in the world. This year, a series of exhibitions and events will mark the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death, making it a key moment to be in the city.
Max Mara follows in Polo’s footsteps with an opulent and multi-cultural collection that aims for a little magic. Polo spent twenty years at the court of Kublai Khan in Mongolia, where, even today, camel and cashmere wools are produced and traded on the so-called Silk Road, a conduit for all manners of luxurious commodities. Naturally, the collection kicks off with camel, black, white and tan and introduces silks in nuanced shades like those Polo might have brought back from Cathay or Constantinople. From ‘robes de chambre’ to parkas via trenches and tabarri, Max Mara serves up the stateliest coats.
There are gowns for special occasions, but there are also sweeping spolverini, snappy tunics, sharply cut tailleurs and neat all-in-ones with everyday elegance ready for travel and adventure. Outsize tassels, chunky drawstrings, extravagant handkerchief cuffs and velvet pannier skirts are key features. The crowning glory will be series of turban-inspired headpieces, realised in collaboration with legendary milliner Stephen Jones.
Valentino
Valentino’s Resort 2025 collection Avant Les Débuts is the first collection to be revealed under the Creative Direction of Alessandro Michele. This marks a new era for the brand as it begins a new chapter in its legacy.
This collection pays homage to Valentino’s past as well as drawing out its new future. “In this delicate passage of memorial revisitation, I tried to reimagine Maison Valentino, starting from the mythical Mignanelli palace, historical headquarters of the brand. In my oneiric transposition, the front door of this ancient Roman palace becomes the portal leading to a house populated by eccentric, uninhibited, eclectic humanity.” Explained Michele in the collection notes.
He imagines glamourous women in cinema, living in the vibrant city of Rome draped in elegance and each one expressing their complex personality. There is no denying Michele’s design aesthetic clearly shines through in this collection, juxtaposed materials, opulent layering and surprising twists and turns make you look twice at each look. As the world awaits the next chapter of Valentino, this collection is certainly an exciting beginning.
Rabanne
Rabanne’s Resort 24 collection is a celebration of Parisian style, combining it with the bold and extroverted influences of the seventies and nineties. With looks the emphasise ease and individuality, the collection expresses women to embrace their individuality.
Long dresses span various materials and silhouettes: gathered silk jersey, body-grazing knit, a sheer sheath with incrustations of metal mesh; and stretch velour with a gathered torso in a shade of candy pink. Beyond their dramatic allure, surface details and styling capture the season’s insouciance. There are straps like ice cubes and belts with draped chains, while rivets and metal balls bring focus to the silhouettes. A wraparound snowflake scarf is paired unexpectedly with dresses or comes as a knit layer embellished with geometric assemblage. Grunge takes a festive attitude, as slip dresses in lustrous metal mesh are incrusted with lace and assemblage halter tops are worn with cashmere shorts. The constant juxtaposition of fancy elements and relaxed garments brings fresh focus to the Maison’s DNA, at once intricately crafted yet ever-youthful.
As night gives way to day, the Pre-collection delivers a spirited range of wearable looks that take fashion to the street. Sparkling embroideries are suddenly dressed down; military elements become decorative, and sport meets sophistication. A coat trimmed with silver and cargo pants worn with a pastille belt shows workwear in a Rabanne way. And while coordinated looks make a bold impression – the flocked denim jacket and jeans; corduroy tailoring in billiard green; stretch jersey ensembles covered in a lush tapestry pattern – remixing the pieces reveals cool creativity.
Boots in collaboration with New Rock become another expression of elevated grunge and prove highly versatile across the collections. Among the statement bags, there’s Rabanne in a compact, slouchy shoulder style; new iterations in raffia include a spacious cabas and a small bucket with contrast black stripes; and the iconic 1969 pastilles return in gleaming copper. Tubular mesh accessories such as a magnet choker and bracelet bordered with metal balls can be effortlessly added to any look, enhancing the edge of a free-spirited season.
Chloé
Since the arrival of Chemena Kamali, Chloé has been celebrating the boho glamour that it is traditionally known for. For the Resort 2024 collection, Kamali is inspired by Karl Lagerfeld’s 1970 interpretation of the brand and the influence of his Art-Deco Parisian apartment on his design. Its signature black, gold and cream colour palette is the basis for the designs that feature key shapes and silhouettes from the seventies.
The collection moves along two parallel lines: rich and airy, billowing dresses and blouses in black and gold or white and gold fil coupé evolve seamlessly from the last show, exploring Art Deco motifs and colour combinations; meanwhile, the definition of the Chloé wardrobe keeps growing, adding pieces that exude the charm of a personal vintage find.
The core elements of this woman’s evolving closet are the tailoring, the jackets with scalloped edges, the leather coats and Bermudas, together with the denim pants and the ribbed knit tops. The colour palette features, along with our signature shades of beige, cream and black, new, highly saturated tones of magenta, fuchsia, purple which add to the eclectic spirit, and intensely decorated and fringed 70s-inspired jewellery completes the looks. Folded boots are a new take on our signature “Cuissardes”, and we introduce our new Chloé sneakers, inspired by the silhouette of boxing shoes and the softness of a ballet shoe.
