Chanel kicked off the international cruise season with an elegantly staged show Tuesday evening at Villa D’Este that was a telling expression of founder Coco’s long-time love of the Italian peninsula.
Specifically referencing Coco’s great friendship with master filmmaker Luchino Visconti, whose noble family once owned Villa Erba next door. While a unifying theme in the show was the famed star of Visconti’s films, Romy Schneider, with several models done up with the Austrian actress’ smoldering hairstyle style.
For the final look, a side-slit white satin column, the model’s haircut mimicked the messy-shirt look of Schneider in the comedy anthology “Boccaccio ‘70”, where – directed by Visconti – she played a housewife whose aristocrat husband cheats on her, leading Romy to successfully demand payment from her spouse for sex.
Chanel dressed Schneider in that film, and this collection featured updated references to the pink cloqué blouse and blue, gold lame dresses and silver lame lingerie that Coco created for Boccaccio ’70.
Movie star glamour al’Italiano throughout a show where Keira Knightley, Anna Mouglalis, Lupita Nyong’o, Margaret Qualley, Caroline de Maigret, Anamaria Vartolomei, and Carlotta Gamba sat front row. The stars perched around metals tables, as was Sofia Coppola, a former intern and long-time friend of the house, who directed a cool teaser where model Ida Heiner strolls about the marble staircase or sunny terraces of legendary hotels in high-waisted shorts or swimsuits.
This 2025 cruise collection will be the penultimate created by Chanel’s hyper professional design studio, which will also handle the house’s next couture collection in July in Paris. As reported, Chanel named Matthieu Blazy to be its new creative director. The former Bottega Veneta designer began working at the house in early April and will stage his debut collection for Chanel in October in Paris.
Presented at sunset outside Villa d’Este, a 16th-century palace built for a Renaissance cardinal, the collection was also an artful display of an ecosystem of top-quality Italian factories that supply Chanel, three of them based near Como. Like the classical two-tone Chanel slingbacks, or natty pyramid-heel mules finished with tiny golden double “CC” logos that were made by Roweda in Parabiago. One of the first Italian resources acquired by Chanel back in 2000, Roweda today boasts 380 skilled men and women artisan boot and shoemakers.
Backed up by the latest great soundtrack by sound-meister Michel Gaubert, blending electro samba remixes of tracks by the likes of Dean Martin or Michael Jackson, the cast wandered around between an audience of 400 editors, thespians and VICs, at two shows – noon and then 6p.m.
Opening with a pearly white quintet, 50’s femme fatale glam with dressing gown dresses, metallic trim cocktails or knit mini blazers. Classic, though certainly shorter, and shaggier wool bouclé suits looked splendid, again sourced locally. From Vimar 1991, famed for its specialist yarn making and brilliant bouclé materials that incorporate leather, cashmere, paper and even feathers.
Other passages starred great metallic leather party frocks, or perfectly cut suede cocktails with faux-fur pockets trimmed in strass. Many looks accessorized by beautifully printed scarves from Mantero, probably Como’s most famous silk manufacturer, in which Chanel recently announced it had acquired a 35% stake.
In the wake of social media laments about Chanel jacking up prices last year, this was the house’s way of reminding informed fans and trained eyes of the unique quality of its products.
Pre-show, seaplanes from Aero Club Como buzzed by the hotel terrace – their machines part of the essential soundtrack of this beautiful lake. Post-show, cormorants, seagulls, and mallard ducks flew by, as Lago di Como returned to its peaceful evening silence, before a local DJ began spinning and the models dashed onto the dancefloor.
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