Elie Saab: a Cruise 2025 fashion show on the shores of Lake Como

Last week, Elie Saab unveiled his Cruise 2025 show. Summoning the nostalgia and romanticism of the golden age of Italian cinema in the 1950s, the Lebanese designer revisited formal wear, aligning himself with the relaxed formality demanded by younger generations. All this in the majestic setting of the Giardini di Villa Melzi.

After a cruise show in tribute to socialite, art collector and fashion icon Marella Agnelli, Elie Saab continued his exploration of the original Dolce Vita of the 1950s.

The designer, long based in Beirut, has found Italy an unrivalled refuge and source of inspiration, transforming the seven-hectare gardens of Villa Melzi, on the shores of Lake Como, into a Cinecitta-style film studio.

The Cruise 2025 fashion show continues to celebrate the Italian woman, but this time in the shadow of Franz Listz’s romanticism, with a revisited elegance that’s as timeless as ever.

A cinematic stroll

Elie Saab chose to hold his Cruise 2025 show at the Giardini of Villa Melzi. This 19th-century neoclassical palace was designed by architect Giocondo Albertolli as the summer residence of Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duke of Lodi and Vice-President of the Italian Cisalpine Republic founded by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Boasting English gardens bordering sublime Lake Como in the commune of Bellagio, the residence is also famous for having been the summer resort of Franz Liszt. The Hungarian composer behind Rêve d’Amour N°3 is said to have written some of his greatest works here, inspired by his romance with Countess Marie d’Agoult.

Entitled “CINEMATIC SPLENDOUR”, Elie Saab’s cruise show featured models similar to the statues decorating the property at the foot of Lake Como, but brought to life.