Fashion chases experiences and increasingly arrives at the beach too
From Forte dei Marmi to Capri and Dubai, more and more brands are deciding to follow their customers to their holiday destinations. Experiential luxury, on the other hand, is the only one growing
3' min read
3' min read
While in Forte dei Marmi it is rumoured that Giorgio Armani will be the new owner of the historic La Capannina, the designer, who will celebrate his 91st birthday next 11 July, has dressed another symbolic destination with his colours and motifs for the summer of 2025, the Caso café on the Piazzetta of Capri, the island where he opened a new boutique in April. A pioneer in many respects and in many forms, Armani was among the first to develop a close link with the holiday spots populated by customers, with the Giorgio Armani Mare collection and then the events, spread all over the world.
These are not only ways to 'chase' summer transfers, but also to satisfy the desire for a luxury perceived and experienced more and more through experiences and less through objects. This is also confirmed by data from the latest Altagamma Bain Worldwide Luxury Market Monitor: in 2024, spending on personal luxury goods fell by 2%, while spending on luxury experiences, from travel to fine dining, grew by 5%.
This combination of factors helps explain the proliferation of brands in summer destinations, present with classic pop-ups but increasingly also signing beach club furnishings. Capri itself is one of the liveliest destinations in this sense: Dior has renewed its collaboration with Jumeirah Capri Palace (and with Bagni Fiore di Paraggi), Van Cleef &Arpels has opened a temporary store in Via Camerelle, while E. Marinella has inaugurated its first boutique on the island, and Global Blue, a leading company in tax free shopping, a new Lounge dedicated to the purchases of non-EU tourists.
Also in the spotlight is Dubai, the capital of the Middle East market, one of the fittest at the moment for the luxury industry: for the launch in the Emirates of its Meta, Ray-Ban signed the takeover of the Gitano Beach Club, Missoni (which is betting firmly on expansion in lifestyle segments) the Drift Beach Club at the One&Only Royal Mirage and also opened a pop-up resort inside the JW Marriott Venice Resort & SPA, while Dolce&Gabbana brought their motifs and colours to Cloud 22, on the rooftop of Atlantis The Royal. The brand - which in July will bring the new stage of its Grand Tour of Haute Couture, Haute Tailoring and Haute Jewellery to Rome - renewed its collaboration in Saint-Tropez with the Casa Amor Beach Club and in Portofino with Le Carillon.
Also in the Ligurian city Swarovski brings its glittering elements and furnishings to the terrace of the Cracco restaurant, which offers the Swarovski x Rosenthal collection on the table. In nearby Paraggi, the Vespa by The Sea project, with which the brand is focusing on its lifestyle extension, continues in Sardinia at Is Molas Beach Club, near Pula. In Forte dei Marmi, the first summer project of Gallo - which recently sold 70% of the property to the Alto Partners fund - lands at the poolside of the Augustus Hotel & Resort.
