Every year, the fashion pack gravitates towards certain destinations. There are long-standing favourites, such as Paris, the Amalfi Coast and Ibiza, but the buzziest spots tend to be lesser known.
We’ve identified the travel escapes the style crowd are heading to this summer and, while ostensibly different – Patmos and Scotland don’t share immediate similarities – there are unifying themes. Originality, beauty and cultural currency will always be catnip to creatives seeking inspiration, or a break from the industry’s bright lights. Discover the places trending now, plus where to stay when you get there.
Biarritz, France
Photographed by Pauline Bernard
The French Riviera isn’t the only place you’ll find the world’s most stylish this summer. Biarritz has long-standing fashion history, but is enjoying a moment in the spotlight – thanks, at least in part, to Chanel’s most recent cruise show, which was held there in April. The luxury brand’s relationship with the coastal town dates back to 1915 when Gabrielle Chanel opened a shop there – her first outside of Paris. Although it’s been overlooked in favour of its more glitzy peers on the Med, the destination offers a more low-key form of glamour – a laidback surf culture, sandy shoreline and its backdrop of Basque Country rolling hills. The beaches are so idyllic that the town is often dubbed ‘Little California’ and its food scene has attracted a handful of respected chefs from Paris. Everyone’s talking about Les Enfants du Marché La Table, the seaside sister of acclaimed market counter Les Enfants du Marché in Paris’ Marché des Enfants Rouges, and Centro Biarritz for cocktails and live DJ sets.
Stay: Le Garage, a design-led boutique hotel, housed in – you guessed it – a former garage. Although a few minutes from the sea, guests can also cool off in the outdoor pool.
Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden
If they’re not holidaying in Stockholm’s archipelago, the style set are buying second homes there. The pull isn’t hard to unpick – clear, cool waters, unspoilt, restorative nature, long summer nights, and idyllic fishing villages. Igmar Bergman loved holidaying here. The islands offer a simpler, slower way of being, an appealing antidote to the frenzied excess often associated with fashion and the techification of our day-to-day lives. Of the archipelago’s 30,000 islands, around 200 are inhabited. Sandhamn, a village on the car-free island of Sandön, attracts Sweden’s most affluent holiday-makers with a storied sailing culture and beaches that feel more Mediterranean than Scandinavian. Gotland is the biggest of the islands, and famed not only for its jaw-dropping scenery, but also its mediaeval town of Visby, popular with Swedish hipsters craving a relaxing reprieve.
Stay: Sibbjans, a stylish farm hotel, an hour away from Visby. Since opening last summer, the king and queen of Sweden have paid a visit.
Patmos, Greece
The Greek islands are a continued favourite among the fashion crowd. Hydra – the car-free island popular with Leonard Cohen and Jackie Kennedy – is a classic, with editors and content creators returning year after year for its bohemian spirit and low-key beauty. In the past 18 months, tranquil Patmos has become a go-to among artists, designers and writers. Its remote location, an eight-hour ferry journey from Athens, is part of the appeal, but certainly not all. Patmos scores high on the serenity front, with a hallowed spiritual history. Known as Greece’s ‘holy island’, its famous monastery is where Saint John is believed to have written the Book of Revelation. You won’t find much nightlife here (although Kasbah in the village of Skala is the place to be seen if you do want an after-dark drink), just unspoilt beaches and bays, a donkey sanctuary and atmospheric monasteries. Prepare to feel truly zen.
Stay: Pagostas, a chic three-bedroom guesthouse in the citadel of Chora, run by fashion insider Maria Lemos. The terrace is a dreamy spot to enjoy a glass of wine and watch the sunset over the hills.
Marrakesh, Morocco
Photographed by Alex Azabache
I lost track of the number of well-dressed men and women that filled my Instagram feed with colourful pictures from Marrakech earlier this year. Although the Red City is less tempting in the summer heat (temperatures as I type are at a sweltering 39 degrees), it is the perfect destination for winter sun or even shoulder season: the off season periods between March and early May, and September to October. The Moroccan destination has a creative pulse that has entranced Bohemians and jet setters for decades, from Yves Saint Laurent in the 60s to more recent visitors Alexa Chung and Kate Moss. The shopping is elite (no one leaves without filling up at one of the souks), and the Gueliz (also known as the city’s ‘New Town’) is now home to a handful of contemporary galleries such as Galerie 127 and Comptoir des Mines Galerie. If you can’t make it over this summer, make a beeline to Broadwick Soho’s Flute rooftop bar instead, which has been given a Marrakechi makeover via legendary hotel El Fenn.
Stay: El Fenn always attracts a glamorous crowd, but low-key arty types should consider Izza Marrakesh – a magical oasis with an impressive art collection.
Pantelleria, Italy
Photographed by Michael Martinelli
Tilda Swinton might have put this remote Sicilian island on the map with 2015’s A Bigger Splash, but it’s only recently that I’ve noticed it truly take off among the fashion pack, with recent visitors including content creator Lucy Williams and designer Tiphaine Guiran. The late Giorgio Armani had a home here. “Pantelleria is my summer refuge,” he once told Luxuo. “I live outdoors when I’m there… My sister says it’s the only place that makes my face change. It’s because I’m genuinely relaxed; the stress disappears.” Pantelleria is a wild-looking place that feels divorced from reality. Characterised by rugged black volcanic landscape, it’s situated between Sicily and Tunisia and home to natural hot springs and a natural sauna. Wine bars don’t get much better than Coste Ghirlanda, where guests sit al fresco within a vineyard bordered by a dramatic valley.
Stay: Parco dei Sesi in the ancient archeological park that it’s named after. This adults-only retreat not only boasts a pool, yoga sessions and sea views, but also an on-site art gallery – an homage to the owners’ creative parents who once lived on the island.
The Highlands, Scotland
Photographed by Zhi Xuan Hew
While the warm climates and sun-baked beaches of the Med are tempting, Scotland and its cinematic landscape has a very different appeal. Designers have always gravitated towards it, from Chanel to Westwood and McQueen. If luxury is about slowing down and simplicity, this small but mighty country is truly premium. Editors and writers are eschewing tans and glamorous beach pop-ups for the more grounded and soulful terrain of Scotland where the skies are big and the air is restorative.
Stay: The Fife Arms continues to host notable fashion luminaries, but our eye is firmly on Hope in the Highlands in the sprawling 100,000-acre Sutherland estate. Fusing design with nature, accommodation options include a heritage hotel, as well as self-catering cottages with sweeping views of the loch.
Ella Alexander is Citizen Femme’s fashion features editor. She started her career at the Evening Standard, and has since held senior editorial roles at Vogue, The Independent and Harper’s Bazaar, where she remains a contributing editor. She also writes for The Telegraph, Sunday Times Style, Service95 and CNN. She is an author, having co-written Dame Zandra Rhodes’ memoir, Iconic: My Life In Fashion In 50 Objects, published by Transworld in July 2024. Her favourite travel destination is Catania, Sicily’s second city.
Lead image: Ilona Bellotto
We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.
Any Questions or Tips to add?