The Chanel Cruise show

Warning: you want to have it all

In addition to the prêt-à-porter shows in March and September and the couture shows in January and July (and oh yes, also the Métiers d’Art shows with which Chanel showcases and emphasizes the craftsmanship of handwork), May is the moment when Karl and his team present the Cruise Collection. A mid-collection primarily aimed at being spent in luxury locations. St Barths, Saint Tropez, a multi-deck yacht, that kind of thing.

Last week, the show took place in Paris. In the Grand Palais, a towering ship was recreated called La Pausa, named after Coco Chanel's vacation home. A fun detail is that Winston Churchill lived in La Pausa for a year and wrote ‘A History of the English-Speaking Peoples’ there. La Pausa used to belong, before Coco Chanel bought it, to the Grimaldi's yacht grounds. Vacation, in short.

The collection could not have captured the ultimate preppy, marinière vacation feeling better. I could write a lot about it, but I would say: look and get greedy. The white sweaters. The striped pants. And oh yes, even the white tights have suddenly become a hit.

A nice extra is that four models from the royal supplier Micha Models walked in the show, one of whom was doing her very first show ever. Can you imagine?