A look from last year's Chanel cruise collection. Photo: Chanel

Though Chanel’s runway shows are always an extravaganza—Arctic glaciers, crystal-filled caves, pearl-covered merry go rounds—it’s the resort shows that boggle even the most jaded fashion minds. Each spring, Karl Lagerfeld flies a few hundred guests to an exotic locale to show off Chanel’s pre-spring collection. Last year, the runway ran the length of a beach in Antibes, before that St. Tropez and in 2010 it was the Venice Lido.  This year, he’s sticking closer to home, though by no means toning things down.  The 2013 cruise collection will be shown in the gardens of Versailles on the evening of May 14th. Meanwhile, Jean Paul Gaultier is planning a spectacle farther east.  On May 11th he’ll stage a massive runway show at the Chaoyang Urban Planning Museum in Beijing to celebrate his growing presence in China.  The designer will show a mix of ready-to-wear, menswear and haute couture.