pictures from www.style.com.

Chanel is one of my favourite labels and I always look forward to Lagerfelds resort or cruise collections for their luxurious but classy opulence. The cruise collections are launched by some of the larger fashion houses as a sort of pre spring summer collection for those lucky enough to holiday in hotter climates in the winter. The resort or cruise collections are often a bit of a preview of things to come for spring and summer.

Karl Lagerfeld showed his 2010 resort collection this week along a boardwalk along the Venice Lido, one of Coco Chanels favourite summer locations. The collection was filled with both nautical and historical references with demure sailor dresses, navy and white stripes, high waisted sailor trousers and black cloaks with tricorn hats. The clothes were as always understated and elegant with no gimmicks needed to draw attention away from their classic style and beautiful cut. The swimweat had almost lingerie like qualities with see through lace panels.

This Chanel Coco Mademoiselle perfume is the best way to get some Chanel elegance every day.

There were far too  many gorgeous resort collections for me to only write one post. So here are some more of my favourites:

The 3.1 Phillip Lim collection was as usual classic and divinely wearable. This suit is so elegant and I love the colour. Nothing more than I would expect though from a very commercially aware designer.

Stella McCartneys collection was a comfy but classy affair. With the usual dose of Stellarisms including expertly tailored blazers and feminine blouses. This chunky textured knit dress was one of my favourites but there were many others.

At Behnaz Sarafpour the collection was a clever combination of sporty and formal. The fabrics and dresses suggested party but the cut has a sporty edge. My favourite was this bright pink dress with pleats adding a bit of texture to the bodice.

Proenza Schouler showed a refreshing collection of loosely fitting layered clothes for Resort. The trousers were baggy and very comfortable looking,the long jackets trench like in style. There was also poncho style tunics and a gorgeous strapless silk jumpsuit.

For any other 3.1 Phillip Lim fans, this 3.1 Phillip Lim belt is a great way to accessorise your outfit.

Here are my favourites from the Resort 2009 collections.

Alber Elbaz surpassed himself as usual with his bright and breezy resort collection. A real feel of summer holidays made this a joy to watch. Asymmetrical draped cocktail dresses and lots of beads gave this collection a real quirky feel and something a bit different. He also had a great collaboration with Acne jeans creating all sorts of items including shoes and bags in deep dark denim.

  Nicholas Ghesquiere’s 2009 resort collection for Balenciaga has carried on the underlying theme from his fall 08 collection with draped asymmetric tops and some full on minimalism with lots of above the knee straight skirts and skinny trousers.