Chanel cancels its cruise show in Capri

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Mar 17, 2020

Chanel has called off its May cruise show in Capri, making it the last major fashion house to annul a resort runway show planned for this spring.

Given worldwide concerns about the coronavirus, Chanel’s decision had been widely expected. With both Italy and France, the latter since Tuesday noon, in full lockdown, the house had effectively little other choice. Nonetheless, given Chanel’s reputation as the largest single luxury fashion brand on the planet, the news is latest significant mark of the huge impact of coronavirus on the luxury industry worldwide.
 
Chanel’s resort collection show had been scheduled for May 7, 2020 on the beautiful island in the Bay of Naples, which has been an elegant resort since the time of the ancient Roman Republic two millennia ago.

“Our foremost consideration is the health and well-being of our teams and guests. Chanel is examining alternative ways of presenting its collection in Capri at a later date and in a different format,” the house informed FashionNetwork.com in a statement.
 
Chronologically, Chanel’s cruise show was the last on a series of some half-dozen cruise collections by major runway marques due to be staged in exotic locations between April and May this year. Among the other major houses who have all cancelled resort runway shows in the next eight weeks are Christian Dior, Prada, Gucci, Max Mara, Giorgio Armani and Versace.
 
“Chanel is closely monitoring the evolution of the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic in order to ensure the protection of all its teams as well as its partners and customers around the world, and has put in place all the necessary preventive measures in accordance with the recommendations of local and global health authorities. This situation, which is quickly evolving, requires a precise approach that takes into account local regulations, and Chanel is fully committed to protect each employee and partner everywhere the company operates,” the house added in a release.
 
In a related move, Chanel had quietly shelved a replica show of its Métiers d’art collection, which was originally shown in Paris last December. It was due to be staged to clients and senior editors on June 4 in London.