Moschino, Louis Vuitton and MaxMara take their fashion shows to the road

As we learn to live with the pandemic, this is a sure sign of returned optimism

The Salk Institute will play host to the Louis Vuitton women's cruise show on May 12. Photo: Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton, MaxMara and Moschino have announced the next venues for their coming shows, which will all be in-person events, on location.

As perhaps the strongest message of optimism the fashion industry can send out, this marks a shift from the caution of the past two years owing to the pandemic, which had many fashion houses hunkering down and delivering digital-only presentations. A willingness to hit the road once again shows a renewed energy and eagerness to connect directly to new audiences.

MaxMara has announced it will stage its resort 2023 collection in the Portuguese city of Lisbon, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Better known as the Gulbenkian, the space is dedicated to the promotion of arts, philanthropy, science and education. The show will take place on June 28.

Meanwhile, Italian house Moschino will head to Milan for its spring/summer 2023 menswear showing on June 19, in what will be a new venue and homecoming, all wrapped into one.

Creative director Jeremy Scott has recently shown collections in New York. Moschino has not shown in Italy since January 2018, making it a significant step in embracing its Italian clientele.

“The return to Milano to show menswear has been on my mind for a while. It feels good to be back," said Scott.

Over at French house Louis Vuitton, women’s artistic director Nicolas Ghesquiere has announced that the brand's cruise collection will be shown at the Salk Institute in San Diego, California.

Built by architect Louis Kahn in 1965, it is a marvel of design, and follows Ghesquiere’s ongoing fascination with architecture, that has taken the brand to diverse locations such as the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan, built by IM Pei, the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Niteroi in Brazil by Oscar Niemeyer, and even the 1962 TWA Flight Centre at JFK airport in New York.

“The Salk Institute has been a place of wonder for me over the years and Louis Kahn’s stunning Brutalist architecture against this extraordinary setting of the Pacific Ocean and the California sunset provides me with endless inspiration," saidGhesquiere. "It also celebrates intelligence, knowledge and the belief in the power of science.”

The show will take place on May 12.

These announcements are expected to be the first in a wave, as more designers begin to feel free once more to look beyond border restrictions.

This also follows on from recent outings in the UAE by Chanel and Giorgio Armani, which brought over its cruise 2021 and spring/summer 2021 collections respectively in late 2021. This ploy of showing twice has also been used at Prada, which repeated its spring/summer 2022 women's show in both Milan and Shanghai.