Paris fashion house Chanel brings glamor to old Havana on Tuesday when it stages its first Latin American fashion show on the former communist island.
It is the latest in a stream of international cultural events in Cuba as it opens up its diplomatic and commercial relations.
“The cultural richness and the opening up of Cuba to the world have turned it into a source of inspiration for Chanel,” Chanel said.
The show will present the latest collection by German designer Karl Lagerfeld, inspired by the colors of the Caribbean and classic “aesthetics of Cuba.”
For Tuesday’s fashion show, the open-air catwalk is up on the Paseo del Prado, a long seaside boulevard, among scruffy old buildings — a neighborhood with little luxury.
Top model Gisele Bündchen is rumored to walk the show for Chanel’s Cruise 2017 collection. Gisele shared an Instagram of a beautiful Havana street captioned, “Hola Cuba!” Is the Brazilian supermodel simply watching from the front row or is she taking a quick break from her catwalk retirement to walk in what will surely be a historic runway event?
Sporting his trademark dark glasses and showy silver gloves, Lagerfeld inaugurated a show of his photographs at a gallery on Sunday in Havana, one of several art galleries that have appeared in the city in recent years.
