Louis Vuitton to Heat Up Rio de Janeiro Pre-Olympics

Sarah Cristobal
·Editor
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Rio de Janeiro, home of Louis Vuitton’s 2015 Cruise collection. Photo: Getty Images

We may be closing out 2015, but fashion editors are already plotting their travel plans for the year ahead. It was announced today that Louis Vuitton is planning to stage its 2016 Cruise collection in Rio de Janeiro over Memorial Day weekend. What does that mean exactly? If last year is any indication — when Nicholas Ghesquire and his crew invited roughly 550 guests (including media) to Palm Springs — it will involve hosting a grand three-day celebration of strategically planned events, charming dinners, endless drinks, and local sightseeing adventures (pack your thongs for the beach ladies!). Details of the trip have yet to be revealed, but rest assured this will be one for the memory banks. Last season’s Palm Springs jaunt involved taking over the famed Parker Meridien and a runway show at Bob Hope’s space age cliffside mansion overlooking all of the city.

You would think that one trip on this scale would be enough, but no, while talks about Climate Change rage on in Paris, Chanel is also planning its Cruise show in Cuba which is set to take place on May 3. Leave it to Karl Lagerfeld and his crafty team (who are now experts at arranging far-flung travel plans) to land this locale first. The travel master showed his last Cruise collection in Dubai and just last month he invited VIPs for a Roman holiday for PreFall.

And then for those who can summon the strength to make it to balmy ol’ London, there is the Gucci cruise show planned for June 2. Sure it won’t be as tropical as the other two locales, but fingers crossed for a spot of sun! Designer of the moment Alessandro Michele is a decidedly more low key fellow than Lagerfeld or Ghesquiere. His 2015 Cruise show was staged in a gallery in New York and the after-party took place at a glorified pizza joint/bar.

The wildcard (or ticket) is what Dior will do. Last year, Raf Simons took over Pierre Cardin’s Bubble Palace and invited guests for games of pétanque and dinner at the best bouillabaisse restaurant in all of France. Since his in-house team is now designing the label following Simon’s exit in November, we wouldn’t be surprised if the label sat this one out. Plus, unless they show in Africa, it would be really difficult to trump the current travel lineup.

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