It may be a nice coincidence that top French fashion house Chanel is presenting its 2018-2019 Cruise collection on a cruiseship.
This welcome slice of glamour imaging comes in the middle of the maritime industry’s own commercial growth spurt.
“We wanted to set sail, to take you on an actual cruise,” gushed Chanel’s president of fashion last week to journalists covering the show.
The 148-metre-long “vessel” complete with swimming pool and piano bar was parked inside the sumptuous Grand Palais in central Paris.
This is only a replica ship and is styled in the great liners of past eras but certainly the new maritime-themed clothes collection is authentic.
This includes Breton fishermen-type striped tops, cream sweaters with anchor-stamped buttons and wide sailor-type white trousers.
All this at a time when the cruise industry itself is more popular than ever. It has seen a 20% increase in passengers over the past five years.
The Cruise Lines International Association expects more than 27 million holidaymakers to choose a waterborne vacation in 2018.
That is on one of the almost 480 vessels, including river and other craft then in operation. Twenty-seven will be brand new this year. Growing new categories of customer include grandparents taking their grandchildren and millennials attracted by river cruises.
Better use of social media for marketing and good internet connections onboard ship are feeding into the IT needs of the modern voyager.
But the industry is also trialling ever more innovative products. Look at the Viking Ultimate World cruise — a 245-day journey passing through 59 countries and stopping at 113 ports.
The “longest-ever continuous world cruise” sets sail from London in August next year and returns to the UK capital eight months later.
Or holidaymakers can choose to travel on the largest cruiseship in the world, the Symphony of the Seas, which last month was sailing from Barcelona.
This mighty vessel will head off to its home base, the new Crown of Miami terminal in Florida, later in the year.
More than 5,500 passengers can be accommodated on the ship owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises and built at the St Nazaire yard in France.
Luxury and adventure
Or if passengers want small, luxurious and adventurous then 220 of them can join the Scenic Eclipse, which starts its maiden voyage in three months' time.
This new vessel is heading for the Arctic and has two seven-seat helicopters and a seven-seat submarine on board as well as four different types of champagne, the marketing blurb boasts.
There is a wide-held view now — not just in the cruise industry — that in a goods saturated world consumers are looking for “experience versus stuff”, as Royal Caribbean chief financial officer Jason Liberty put it.
It is no surprise that he is in an upbeat mood given his company has just published record first-quarter financial results.
The berths on the company’s almost 50 vessels were 100% (actually 108%) booked during the first three months of the year.
Royal Caribbean chief executive Richard Fain describes 2017 as exceptional but expects 16% growth this year on top of that.
That is a nice situation for Fain who has just celebrated 30 years at the helm of the Miami-based company.
Rival Norwegian Cruise Line has also talked about “stellar” bookings for 2018 as my colleague Michael Juliano reported last week.
But if one is searching for any cloud on the maritime horizon one could perhaps alight on the need to take infinite care of the environment, especially if it wants to further ingratiate itself with a younger audience.
It is very noticeable how many negative social media comments follow any cruise with regard to pollution incidents.
Equally there is increasing focus on both CO2 emissions, ship’s waste disposal and the impact to passengers and on port populations of burning heavy fuel oil.
Some culture critics say the new nautical nostalgia is a sign of these turbulent times: people are seeking escapism.
Whatever the reason, it is uplifting to see the maritime world re-associated with the chic style, romance and excitement of the past, even as it gears up for what looks like a positive future.
