Travel is in Fashion Again

by NANCY HELLMRICH

Paris and the Côte d'Azur have been on our minds lately. Perhaps because our news feeds are brimming with glamorous (if a bit skimpy) bikini shots of "It" models, actors, and actresses romping around the Mediterranean. Lounging on yachts. Posing on jet skis. Strolling chic streets dressed in Chanel, Balenciaga, Zuhair Murad, and Etro.

Of course the explanation for these stylish seaside escapes is the convergence of Paris Fashion Week, the exuberance around the much anticipated haute couture Resort 2022 Collections, and the Cannes Film Festival, which just wrapped in mid-July.

Dior

Post-fashion show getaways and pre-festival escapes in the Greek Isles, French Riviera, and coastal Italy are par for the course, of course. Catching up on the fashion news, we couldn't help but imagine ourselves emerging from the airport in Nice, looking remarkably fresh in our haute couture tracksuits, despite the long haul flight. It's just a matter of choosing which designs to bring along in our feather-light carry-ons. Max Mara showed their newest pieces on a bougainvillea-draped outdoor terrace in Ischia, Italy. At Dior, the mood was Athenian goddesses. The 2022 Dior Croisiere (Cruise) fashion show was held after dark at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. Louis Vuitton Cruise 2022 was presented in a striking outdoor set in Cergy-Pontoise, France.

Max Mara

Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing, fresh from the release of his Netflix documentary, Wonder Boy found his muse in a melting pot of African and French inspiration. Oscar de la Renta clearly wants your next cruise to feature evening galas. Zimmermann fashioned an "ode to wanderlust" with sunrises and seashells.

"As I sketched this collection," sighed Carolina Herrera designer Wes Gordon, "I was daydreaming of travel, friends, dancing." Us too, Wes, us too.