Cuba Hosts Chanel’s First Latin America Fashion Show

By Alina Tiel

 

French haute couture company Chanel launched Tuesday its 2016-2017 Cruise Collection at the Paseo del Prado, a busy and emblematic street of Havana, the Cuban capital.

 

With a runway show that stirred up a bevy of comments, the Chanel show turned out to be what many had expected: a glamorous spectacle in a place that’s all the rage these days, so no wonder that one of the world’s most influential designers, Karl Lagerfeld, made up his mind for what some people call an “exotic” destination.

 

Lagerfeld said a few days ago that the show is inspired in Cuba’s esthetics and traditional vision, thus getting fully integrated into the island nation’s cultural context.

 

Amid a slight drizzling that took Havana resident aback this evening, the show kicked off with a chant to the Orishas, the dieties of African-Cuban religion that are deeply worshipped on the island nation.

 

Following a parade of runway models from the turf that donned the different pieces made for the ocassion, a Cuban conga put an end to Chanel's show in Havana.

 

News media organizations from around the world traveled to Havana to cover the Chanel presentation, eager to portray a city that’s increasingly opening up to today’s currents and trends.

 

Hotels in Old Havana had been sold out weeks in advance for the Chanel show, something unprecedented on the largest Caribbean island. Now Cuba joins the list of cities, like Miami, Venice, Singapore, Dubai and Seoul, that have staged such a Chanel show.

 

Lots of celebrities and beautiful people also traveled to Cuba to attend the show, including actor Vin Diesel, whose shooting the saga of Fast & Furious in Havana these days, and American crooner Taylor Swift.

 

As for the Cuban people and tourists, they had the chance to watch the entire show on giant screens installed around Prado Street.

 

The Chanel Havana Fashion Show in Photos

 

Source: www.caribbeannewsdigital.com