On a balmy November evening, the historic Raffles Hotel in Singapore came alive with a kind of magic only CHANEL could conjure. After debuting its Cruise 2025/26 collection at Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, the French maison brought the collection to the storied halls of Raffles Singapore, marking its return to the Lion City after more than a decade.
The Cruise 2025/26 collection is, at its heart, a love letter to the idea of movement and freedom —of living between destinations, where every moment is an occasion to dress up. The designs captured the essence of a life where hotels are second homes—a nod to Gabrielle Chanel’s “ma maison” suite at The Ritz Paris, where she lived for over 30 years.
It is fitting, then, that the Cruise 2025/26 collection first found its home in Villa d’Este, and now a second home in Raffles Singapore, once a gateway to the “Far East” during the golden age of travel. For over a century, Raffles has been a haven for adventurers, writers, and dreamers alike. Its halls have witnessed the musings of literary giants such as Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, the latter of whom is said to have worked on The Jungle Book during his stay. Playwright Noël Coward and author Ernest Hemingway were among the illustrious figures who have walked its corridors.
And then, of course, there’s the legend. As the story goes, during the hotel’s construction, the last tiger in Singapore was found hiding beneath the ballroom and was killed there. This tale, though shrouded in myth, has only added to the mystique of Raffles, making it a place where history and fantasy intertwine — much like the world of CHANEL itself.
CHANEL’s Love Affair With Singapore
This was not CHANEL’s first foray into Singapore, but it had been over a decade since the Maison last made its mark in the Lion City. The previous occasion was in May 2013, when the late Karl Lagerfeld presented the Cruise 2014 collection at the Loewen Cluster in Dempsey Hill. That event was historic, marking CHANEL’s first show in Asia outside of Europe and the United States. It was also a celebration of storytelling, as Lagerfeld debuted his short film Once Upon a Time, starring Keira Knightley as a young Coco Chanel.
Now, a decade later, the Cruise 2025/26 collection brings CHANEL back to Singapore in a way that felt both nostalgic and forward-looking. As I waited for the show to begin, I had the opportunity to sit down with Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion at CHANEL. For him, CHANEL’s bond with Singapore is deeply personal. “It’s a love affair,” he said with a smile. “Out of about 15 key cities globally, Singapore is one of them, and it’s very important to us.”
“We opened our first boutique in 1993 here in Singapore, and I feel like I’ve seen all the steps of development here,” he pauses. “The conversations, the internal discussions about what we want to do in Singapore — it’s not done, it’s not finished. We’re still learning every day.”
He chuckles and adds with a hint of intrigue, “We also have projects in Singapore that are too early to talk about, but we’re always thinking about what will be meaningful to CHANEL to make CHANEL even stronger here.”
The CHANEL Cruise 2025/26 Replica Show
In the marble-clad corridors of Raffles Singapore, the CHANEL Cruise 2025/26 Replica show unfolded once more, same but different. CHANEL’s signature tweed was reimagined for the vacation-ready wardrobe, with shorter hems and more casual silhouettes that felt perfectly suited to warmer evenings. A palette of soft pastels — peach, pink, and blue — and crisp optical whites brought a light, sun-kissed mood to the collection, one that arguably feels more at home in the tropics of Southeast Asia. Accessories added a playful touch, with silk satin scarves by Mantero tied in the hair or wrapped around wrists and ankles.
But it wasn’t all soft and breezy. The collection’s bolder side embraced a disco-inspired glamour, channelling a dance-floor-ready energy. A lustrous pink-and-orange striped lamé jumpsuit, worn under a long matching cape, seemed destined for a glitzy soirée, while flared jeans featuring dramatic knee-high slits called out to late-night adventures.
Even in its boldest moments, the collection remained rooted in comfort—a tribute to the lifestyle of those ever en route, who, like Gabrielle Chanel, treat hotels as their homes, where dressing up is as much about ease as it is about elegance.
