French fashion house Chanel will present its cruise 2017 collection for the first time in Havana, Cuba on May 3.
Chanel’s selection of Cuba as the setting for its annual cruise presentation aligns with the brand’s practice of traveling to a different destination each year, with previous cities including Seoul, South Korea and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, among others.
Fashion editors and buyers have been treated to some very exotic trips in recent seasons in order to take in luxury labels’ resort shows. From Louis Vuitton’s jaunt to Palm Springs to Dior’s cruise 2016 presentation on the Cote d’Azur, it seems that the big-name brands have been trying to one-up each other every year.
CHANEL WILL PRESENT ITS CRUISE 2017 COLLECTION IN HAVANA, CUBA. (Photo: Imaxtree)
The designer at the forefront of this traveling runway movement is none other than Karl Lagerfeld, who’s staged cruise shows in Miami, Venice, Singapore, Dubai and Seoul in the past. But, Chanel has never before brought its show to Latin America, and Lagerfeld’s about to change that.
In the days leading up to the presentation until May 12, an exhibition displaying Mr. Lagerfeld’s photography will be housed at the Factoria Habana.
The French house’s cruise 2017 is set to take place in Havana, Cuba on May 3, 2016 — the first major fashion production to hit the city since diplomatic relations have been restored.
However, Lagerfeld is certainly not the first designer to look to Cuba for inspiration this year: Both Stella McCartney and Proenza Schouler‘s resort 2016 collections were heavily influenced by the island, and one of the most prominent editorial “trends” throughout the September issues was fashion shoots staged on the city’s colorful streets.
According to a release from Chanel, the “cultural richness and opening up of Cuba” has long inspired Lagerfeld, and if his past collections are any indication, there will certainly be plenty of the country’s lively, colorful flavor injected into the clothing.
However, this does bring up the question of whether or not it’s insensitive for a luxury label to descend upon — and to borrow heavily from aesthetically — a country still rife with poverty?
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