From Dior's Beach Club to Designer Hotel PJs: How Fashion and Travel Made It Instagram Official in 2026
Luxury holiday merch is the ultimate fashion-person travel accessory. Keep scrolling to discover 2026's best (and chicest) collaborations.
In 2025 fashion and hospitality made it Instagram official, but 2026 will be the year that relationship is taken to the next level.
Major sporting events from the Winter Olympics to the World Cup (taking place across Canada, Mexico, and the US), TV shows such as every fashion girls guilty pleasure Emily in Paris, and blockbuster film releases including the return of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Wuthering Heights are set to supercharge the luxury travel merch market. The message is clear: despite a volatile economic outlook, consumers are still spending on experiences. Whether that manifests as a luxe escape, front row tickets to see Beyonce’s hotly anticipated Act III, or cheering on Lando Norris at the Grand Prix in Qatar.
Prioritising personalisation, there will be a trend towards booking travel to destinations that reflect our passions or offer location-specific experiences. This shift opens the door for the continued growth of memorable merch. The rise of hotels investing in silk pyjama capsules, collectable branded totes, everyday beach club essentials and summer beauty kits also marked the beginning of luxury fashion and beauty brands recognising a gap in the market where they could meet their customers where they spend their downtime.
Looking ahead at travel trends in 2026, there will be a greater emphasis on creativity and personalisation, and when it comes to tangible takeaways - in the form of luxury travel merch - fashion is set to fully immerse itself in the worlds of entertainment, sport, and culture. And with some of fashions most influential Creative Directors (Kim Jones x Aman Resorts, Pharrell x The Goodtime Hotel) partnering with hotel brands we can expect the merch to become the main attraction.
Fashion and Hospitality’s Hook Up = Memory-Making Merch
Leaving no element of our lifestyles untouched, brands that have a strong identity and engaged community are catering to their changing customers’ needs across several unexpected touchpoints, including our travel itineraries.
According to Statista, “Customers in the Hotels market worldwide are increasingly seeking unique experiences during their travels. They are looking for accommodations that offer more than just a place to stay but also provide memorable experiences.” And as tourism continues to rebound globally, even as the desire to pull back on lavish holidays affects certain levels of the market, consumers are still choosing not to give up on their annual travel plans. Whether booking off-season to #dupedestinations, or downsizing from 14 to 10-day holidays, expectations of creating memorable experiences are on the rise. Especially as the numbers are a sure sign that investment in creative collaborations will continue to act as a draw for the 125 million international tourists who visited Europe in the first three months of 2025 alone, according to a UN Tourism report.
How Hotel Boutiques and Baristas Got a Rebrand via Luxury Merch
Gone are the days when the uninspiring hotel boutique was the only option for a little in-resort retail therapy. Now, legacy hotel chains are rebooting their retail offer to include some of the most sought-after merch designed by fashion's leading names. Palm Heights in Grand Cayman has quietly become known for attracting key emerging talents, scoring exclusive designs from Christopher John Rogers and Tekla, as well as Marrakshi Life. While The Ritz Paris is now offering the ultimate souvenir for the French bourgeois meets American preppy aesthetic (thank you Celine) with a branded men’s and women’s ready-to-wear collection. A collection which also includes a limited-edition collaboration with FRAME, whose merch—from cashmere sweaters to varsity jackets—has been endorsed by Hailey Bieber, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. Proving there is life beyond the lobby and brands can find commercial success with products that tap into their guests' desires to be part of their story in an IYKYK way.
Being part of the holiday ‘In’ crowd also gives bragging rights to those who manage to snag exclusive items from an under-the-radar hotel collab, as many are proving too good to only be worn poolside. The One&Only Resorts and Mara Hoffmann's exclusive swim capsule, for example, is likely to have doubled in value on the resale market following the designer's decision to close in 2024, whereas Olivia Von Halle x The Carlyle’s satin sleep set bills itself as “A Cocktail Pyjama For The City That Never Sleeps”.
This trend is not just exclusive to the hotel scene, as cafes, restaurants, and iconic local eateries are also recognising the demand to brand themselves outside of the food they sell, in effect turning their loyal customers into a clever twist on traditional billboard marketing. In 2024, following a Highsnobiety collaboration that was sold in Selfridges, East London institute Beigel Bake launched a range of merch which sold out online and included T-shirts, tote bags, and utility jackets. The Manchester-born luxury streetwear brand Represent also recently opened its first London outpost with an in-store café, called the Owners Club Café. Especially tailored to its 247 community, the launch featured a store exclusive collection of merch in colours such as ‘Flat White’, alongside a football shirt released just in time for the Women’s Euros tournament.
The SPF Factor: Branded Beach Clubs Channel Peak #Resortcore
After plenty of 2025 pop-ups, the beach club is steadily becoming one of the most impactful methods for brands to stake their claim on the summer season. Targeting those who migrate out of the cities and travel to the coast, from Ibiza to Miami or St. Tropez.
Wholesale takeovers of beach clubs mean brands can connect with their customers during their downtime, and by simply marketing the exclusive nature of the experience and dressing the environment with brand colours and codes, guests will naturally find themselves encouraged to purchase merch tied into the pop-up, as a souvenir to remember the experience. Take last summer’s Burberry takeover of The Standard hotel as a keen example of this, ‘Burberry by the Sea’ will see the house celebrate summer on the rooftop of The Standard’s Ibiza outpost, rebranding sun loungers, a lift, and even a boat called the ‘Check Mate’ with their signature check updated in the emerging colour of the season: lemon yellow. Following a day by the pool, guests can indulge in merch moments which range from a retro-style photobooth, beach bags and summer staples including swimwear, hats and sunglasses. In 2025 summer, Burberry will be joined by Hailey Bieber's beauty brand Rhode (Gran Folies, Majorca), Prada (Lido del Faro, Capri), Alo (Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum), and Longchamp (Bagno Felice 1, Tuscany), who will all take to the shores with beach clubs and tailored merch of their own. We await with baited to see what will turn up on the shores this year, but we know Dior is continuing its popular Dioriviera takeovers for certain.
Luxury Merch Takes Flight
As fashion brands double-down on exclusive collaborations with, not just hotels, but sports tournaments, concerts, viral restaurants and even spaces as niche as literary festivals think Miu Miu’s Literary Club in Milan and their pop-up Summer Reads newsstand gifting book merch - the hospitality sector is also using the luxury merch opportunity to tap into local talent. Highlighting the stories of makers and their craft. Swedish luxury essentials brand CDLP has collaborated with one of Lake Como’s most exclusive hotels, Passalacqua, on a capsule featuring printed co-ords, swimwear and locally designed and hand-painted silk scarves.
Effortlessly extending their influence outside of the fashion world, Simon Porte Jacquemus announced in March this year that his brand had joined forces with Air France to create “Le Pyjama” for the airline's La Première guests, to serve as the ultimate “keepsake from a night onboard”. One of Kim Jones’ first projects since departing his role as Artistic Director of Dior Men’s is a collaboration for the lifestyle division of the Aman resort brand. Boasting sustainable materials sourced with ‘Parley for the Oceans’, each piece is designed with adaptable functionality to go from city to sand dune. This first collection marks another milestone in Aman’s strategic expansion into retail, as their e-commerce shopfront ranges from ready-to-wear, fragrance, skincare, homeware, and sports-facing (tennis, yoga) capsules. It also offers a new blueprint for hotels to move beyond simply creating standard merch towards creating full-blown collections with guest designers.
So, expect many more of these exclusive collections in the near future, whether that’s swimwear to make a splash in by The Standard Maldives or casual outerwear for horse riding by the One&Only Montana.
Extreme Sports Gets Elevated
Its officially ski season and fashion houses are tapping into the once elite sport to develop edits which offer runway worthy looks for on or off the slopes. Aligning with the upcoming Winter Olympics, starting in Italy (Cortina d’Ampezzo and Milan) on February 6th, luxury brands have created kits for their national teams including Ralph Lauren for the US, Lululemon for Canada, and Adidas for Team GB. Jacquemus has revived his ongoing collaboration with Nike for a collection that will have spectators both soiree and ski ready with contoured second-skin layering, maxi shearling coats and neon co-ords. Lacoste, whose heritage is synonymous with sports, unveiled an Olympic heritage ‘Cortina D’Ampezzo 1956 Collection’ to celebrate the winter games with a blend of retro styling and cozy ski gear.
LA-based lifestyle brand ALO hosted a trip to winter resort destination Courchevel to launch their Alo Atelier collection, where alongside high-performance ski suits and cashmere puffer jackets, ice skating boots and ski’s got the travel merch makeover with custom branding. No stranger to the mountain sport Moncler Grenoble teamed with MyTheresa to host a trip with a focus on alpine living and slow travel with guests transported to Gstaad by vintage train. The activation marked the launch of two exclusive looks that could be considered the ultimate expression of luxury travel merch.
Seeing Stars
Fashion merch has always been intrinsically linked to the entertainment industry as fans seek out exact copies of iconic looks from their favourite shows or blockbuster movies. Reliving the experience of watching season finales with fellow devotees or adopting the personality of their favourite characters via a slogan T-shirt i.e. “And Just Like That!”. This year will prove just as key for movie and film merch tied into popular travel destinations, providing a boost for booth tourism and fashion brands.
The 2024 and 2025 press tours for Wicked were a masterclass in method dressing as Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande fully immersed themselves in their characters pink and green personas, calling on Balenciaga, Givenchy, and Dior for custom looks. Following the success of the formula spearheaded by films including Barbie and Challengers, fashion brands - LoveShackFancy, Marks and Spencer, and Cambridge Satchel - were quick to tie-in related merch to coincide with the release of both films. Another press tour which rewrote the fashion merch playbook was the A24 and Timothée Chalamet film, Marty Supreme. Comparable to the hypebeast drop model of the 2010s, Chalamet’s promotional tour featured the star in custom windbreakers branded with the movies name. Anticipating the demand, and relying on his built-in fan base, the custom merch was then sold at IYKYK pop-ups from London to New York. The rush to secure the exclusive collaboration (designed with LA-based streetwear label Nahmias) was documented by fans via TikTok, and despite 4am quests sold out in a matter of hours.
The upcoming Supergirl movie can take partial credit for influencing Chanel’s Creative Director Matthieu Blazy, who sent a knitted sweater with the iconic ‘S’ down his recent Métiers d’Art runway, set in a New York subway station. Yet, the superhero’s symbol is no stranger to fashion with Marc Jacobs re-releasing his Hero sweater for the 40th anniversary of his namesake label, and always ahead of the creative curve, a similar sweater was captured on the streets of London during fashion week in 2024.
Fans of historical romance will rejoice at the release of a new version of Wuthering Heights, shot on the Yorkshire Moors and starring Margo Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Jonathan Anderson (who worked on the costume design for Challengers and Queer) would be a front-runner to create Dior merch tied to the film, as the fashion houses best-selling book tote bag (which the creative director reimagined embroidered with the covers of literary classics) would make for a fitting merch moment. Simonstone Hall, the Yorkshire hotel where Robbie and Elordi stayed during filming, is currently offering a ‘Wuthering Heights’ themed experiential stay, where guests can disconnect from modern life and indulge in a ‘grown-up getaway’ of afternoon tea, guided walks, and long baths, followed by a candlelit dinner.
Location, Location, Location
Beyond the big screen a raft of new hotel openings The Standard, Lisbon; Orient Express, Venezia; Six Senses, Waldorf Astoria, and the Delano in London will create new collaborative partnerships and guest experiences across fashion, art, and food that are both tangible and memorable, and travel merch will act as the ultimate holiday keepsake.
The high-profile launch of the ‘All-Suite’ Chancery Rosewood Hotel, formerly the home of the US Embassy, in London is making waves within the fashion world. Hosting ROKSANDA’S twenty-year anniversary show during London fashion week last season, the hotel also boasts interiors decorated with Savile Row fabrics, but it is in its collaboration with British-Canadian designer Erdem that the concept of luxury travel merch has been taken up a notch. Guests of the hotel can relive their stay with a set of Toile de Jouy pyjamas (printed with a map of Grosvenor square in the 18th-century) exclusive to the Chancery Rosewood. In Paris, decadent slumber was also on the mind of Olivia Von Halle as she updated her bestselling Lila pyjamas for a collaboration with Hôtel Costes. Both designers captured the mood of each city to create an aesthetic unique to the hotels location, which is an example of the way travel merch is setting itself apart and evolving to become more than a throwaway souvenir.
Miami’s Art Basel fair never fails to draw a crowd, and launching during last Novembers event The Standard hotel teamed up with Colombian-American designer Esteban Cortázar for his Donde Esteban pop-up of vacation essentials printed with neon graphic scenes depicting the vibrancy of Miami Beach. The pop-up was influenced by the designers Latin heritage and the ‘Tiendita’s (small stores)’ he visited when growing up, attracting both guests of the hotel and the art fair to the authentic experience.
The retro-glamour of the Apple TV+ series “Palm Royale” returned for a second season, with the streaming platform partnering with The Colony hotel in Palm Beach to celebrate. Taking on the persona of the show, the ‘Pink Paradise’ rebranded into the iconic social hub synonymous with the series with food, drink, and homeware tied into the theme. The takeover’s shoppable merch included sun-loungers, throw pillows and fringed parasols from Business and Pleasure Co and for a limited-time a curated ‘Stay Royale’ was available to book for devoted fans. The one-of-a-kind immersive experience included a stay in the hotels Magnolia penthouse, access to a vintage convertible, and a photoshoot styled from the retro 1960s wardrobe edited for each guest as part of the package. While the hotels leopard-clad boutique was decorated with pastel-toned accessories and dresses from Dolce Gabbana to emulate the style of Kristen Wiig’s main character Maxine Dellacorte-Simmons.
