A brief history of the boat as a vessel of the imagination in fashion

From Prada's pastel boats to Gucci's gondolas, boats are recurring symbols in fashion campaigns. Whether they float peacefully on calm waters or sail across tumultuous oceans, these vessels become powerful metaphors. More than just a visual motif, the boat represents both the mastery of time, like a ship navigating precisely across an infinite sea, and the surrender to the flow of things. In the world of luxury, where every detail is meticulously orchestrated, the boat offers an escape, a place of reverie, a promise of new horizons.

In 1997, Prada had already made the boat the central motif of its Fall/Winter campaign, immortalized by British photographer Glen Luchford. In front of the camera, model Amber Valetta seems to flee the chaos in the background aboard a makeshift boat. Shot on a privatized Tiber river for the occasion, the campaign exudes a dramatic tension, echoing the behind-the-scenes scale of the shoot. Two decades later, the motif reappears in a very different context. Photographed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch under the artistic direction of Ferdinando Verderi, the series features a dream cast. One after another, Hunter Schafer, Julia Nobis, Kendall Jenner, Lina Zhang and Troye Sivan sit in pastel-colored boats on a barely rippled sea. The horizon? Nonexistent. Water and sky merge into one. Stripped of its oars, the boat becomes a symbol of surrender, of ultimate freedom. By choosing the boat—the most basic form of a vessel—the Italian house creates a striking contrast with the silhouettes, sometimes minimalist, sometimes sophisticated. Like a ship, fashion takes us to unsuspected elsewheres.

Before invading campaigns, houses — Lanvin and Patou leading the way — had already taken over 20th-century ocean liners, aiming to seduce wealthy clientele heading for the sun. Quickly, boutiques began to appear on the shores of the most coveted seaside resorts. Whether for a short stopover or a longer stay, these boutiques — most open only in the summer season — offered pieces suited to luxury tourism. Yet the term "cruise collection" only emerged in the 1990s. Today, it no longer refers to a maritime wardrobe, but to a nomadic state of mind. Karl Lagerfeld gave it a spectacular interpretation in 2018 for Chanel's 2019 cruise collection: a life-size ocean liner was recreated under the glass roof of the Grand Palais. Onboard, nearly a hundred passengers wore pieces inspired by marine attire, where the house’s emblems mingled with nautical imagination. At the end of the show, guests rushed aboard the technical marvel, responding literally to this “invitation to travel.” Another remarkable embarkation: Jacquemus' show Le Chouchou at the Château de Versailles. Seated in boats on the Grand Canal, turned into front row seats for a grandiose show, guests peacefully watched models walk the historic park’s lawn. Dior, for its part, took the experience even further with its Dior Spa Cruise, a wellness boat in the heart of Paris — a city whose emblem is a ship.

Even Swiss watchmaker Rolex uses the boat as a central motif. A symbol of controlled escape, the ship becomes a metaphor for absolute precision, paired with the dream of the open sea. At Louis Vuitton, travel takes on the form of a luxury cruise. For its Pre-Fall 2025 campaign, the house embraces an old money aesthetic. Unlike Prada’s or Jacquemus’ sober boats, Vuitton returns to the lavish origins of cruise collections, made to accompany the elite to the most beautiful shores. The campaign, displayed in the streets, becomes an accessible window into a luxury reserved for the few. Yet in 2020, Vuitton opted for a more dreamlike approach. Directed by Viviane Sassen, the campaign In Pursuit of the Dream featured children in surrealistic scenes. Among them: an oversized paper boat or the famous trunk turned into an imaginary exploration ship.

At Gucci, the boat motif carries other references, notably liturgical ones. In the 2019 cruise campaign, renamed Gucci Gothic, Alessandro Michele draws on the biblical imagery of Noah’s Ark. Captured by Glen Luchford — again — this series shows the ship’s construction, the animals’ boarding, and life onboard. Eve biting the apple also appears, an iconic figure playfully reinterpreted. More poetic, the Venetian gondola makes frequent appearances at Gucci, a nod to the house’s Italian roots. In the Utopian Fantasy campaign, imagined by digital painter Ignasi Monreal, the boat leaves Venice’s peaceful canals for an ocean filled with strange creatures. The gondola also resurfaces in an eyewear campaign, where models play the part of day-trippers. Between imaginary odyssey and real escapade, the boat allows brands to immerse the audience in their world. Biblical, luxurious or modest, each vessel opens a timeless parenthesis. While Chanel drops anchor on the shores of Lake Como for its cruise collection, and Gucci raises sails in a wind-kissed campaign, one question remains: what horizon shall we sail toward this summer?