At Chanel’s Cruise 2026 Show By Lake Como, You Won’t Want To Check Out

The “suite” life, as directed and costumed by Chanel

Chanel unveiled its Cruise 2026 fashion show at the Villa d’Este, a luxury hotel on Lake Como

Not too long after the latest season of The White Lotus aired, Chanel offers up its own fantasy of luxurious hotel life with its Cruise 2026 show.

The fashion show was presented at the Villa d’Este, a five-star hotel that sits along the shores of Lake Como. The hotel, which once housed European royalty, is regularly graced by film stars and artists, so it’s possible that the hotel staff didn’t blink an eye when Chanel’s guests arrived. The celebrities on the front row included Margaret Qualley, Lupita Nyong’O and Keira Knightley, all of whom wore bold, movie-star sunglasses from Chanel’s latest eyewear collection (you know, the one with that viral campaign featuring Kendrick Lamar).

You could imagine the guests of the Villa d’Este sporting any one of the looks that came down the runway. The model who opened the fashion show wearing a white tweed bathrobe and strings of pearls may as well have kept walking until she reached the hotel’s famous floating pool, overlooking Lake Como. If she wanted to actually get in the water, she could switch to the deep pink bodysuit that appeared later in the show (there is also a bikini set in the same shade). And if she wanted to channel Jane Birkin’s flirty on-screen style in the film La Piscine, which was set in a villa during a summer holiday, she can choose between a white crochet tank top worn with a matching skirt, a white lace sundress embellished with sequin stripes, or a white cardigan worn with high-waisted tweed shorts.

What if she has plans to attend one of the hotel’s glitzy summer parties? She could wear the sequin-covered ensemble of a black blouse and flared pants. Or, she could be even bolder and wear the backless jumpsuit and matching cape, both crafted in lamé fabric shining in sunset pinks and oranges. Very disco. You could see touches of ‘80s extravagance elsewhere in the collection, namely in the padded shoulders of the tweed jackets and even the aforementioned bathrobe.

There is also an Old Hollywood flair to the collection: many looks were accessorised with opera gloves and more movie-star sunglasses. That Chanel’s Cruise 2026 show has a sheen of cinematic glamour to it is no coincidence. The French fashion brand cites the works of Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti, who was a friend of Gabrielle Chanel, as an inspiration.

The show was also teased with a short film by Sofia Coppola. In the teaser, the model Ida Heiner is seen lounging around the Villa d’Este while clad in her summery Chanel ensembles. Coppola had previously directed Somewhere, a film starring Elle Fanning as the young daughter of a movie star who lives, for a time, at a fancy hotel. If Fanning’s character had been dressed by Chanel, she might have worn one of the ruffled taffeta dresses or striped sequin tops in the collection, which all came in soft pastel colours. Other delightfully girly touches include the clear bead necklaces and the chiffon flowers that adorned the models’ looks.

With its latest cruise show, Chanel achieves what cinema usually does best: offering a sense of escapism. The fantasy that Chanel has created is one where women wake up to a magnificent view of a lake, dress up in glamorous ensembles to mingle with other beautiful people, and simply indulge themselves in a lavish Italian getaway while “sheltered from the outside world,” as the show notes read.

“Hotels always give you a sense of possibility,” said Coppola in an interview about her film, Somewhere. “They take you out of your life.”

In the film, Fanning’s character eventually has to check out of the hotel and head back to the real world. But in the case of the Chanel girl who can fly out to Lake Como on a whim and spend her summer at a former palace, her life is the movie. And now she has the perfect wardrobe for it.

Ahead, see the best looks from the Chanel Cruise 2026 show.