High Stakes Cruise, Menswear and Couture Seasons: What You Should Know

2025 is a year of creative change, and there’s a lot happening this summer before the shows in September- from Demna’s Balenciaga swan song to Glenn Marten’s debut at Maison Margiela. For sure, more is bound to follow this year in the fashion realm.

Even though a huge chunk of the debuts are bound for this September, this summer will see the pieces start to move, thanks to a flurry of switches taking place around the cruise, menswear and couture seasons, between June and August.

This week for example, was the announcement that Glenn Marten’s first collection for Maison Margiela would arrive during couture week in July, not in September- how tantalizing. But summer is not exactly when the industry is in full-fledged fashion mode, making it difficult to keep up.

Although most other freshman efforts from newly appointed designers, including Matthieu Blazy at Chanel and Demna at Gucci are coming in the autumn for the Spring/Summer 2026 season, there’s lots to look out for at the cruise, menswear and couture shows this summer before everyone retreats for the month of August.

Chanel started the resort season with a show in Lake Como, Italy, on 29 April. This was one of the last shows pre-Blazy, with only a couture show in July left to be led by its in-house studio before the Belgian designer’s debut.

On the other hand, Gucci show in Florence took place on 15^th May at the Palazzo Settimanni. Gucci acquired the building in 1953, and it has served as a showroom, workshop and home for its archives since 2021. It’s a timely show to host at this location considering Gucci is currently being designed by the in-house studio following Sabato De Sarno’s exit earlier this year and ahead of Demna’s much-discussed, potentially promising debut this autumn.

Dior has also not been left behind with its creative future garnering much discussion in the past few months, particularly since Jonathan Anderson exited Loewe and was announced as Kim Jone’s replacement at Dior Men. Industry chatter places Anderson as Maria Grazia Chiuri’s would-be successor should she exit the house in the coming months.

Part of that ongoing he-said, she said conversation would potentially mean that the Dior resort 2026 show this summer is Chiuri’s last. The show will take place in Rome, Chiuri’s hometown- make of that what you will.