After 33 years at the helm, rumours are circling that this was Karl Lagerfeld's final collection for the house (the designer supposedly has a life contract which basically means he leaves when, and if, he wants to) but it makes one wonder if anyone else would ever be capable of such large-scale bravado.
Nods to the city ran from subtle to all-out obvious. On the quieter front were tiered ballerina skirts crafted from white, banana-leaf-shaped organza appliqué, and on the shoutier side were Che Guevara-style berets rendered in black sequins, retro-looking T-shirts emblazoned with "Coco Cuba" layered under tweed suits, a cartoon-ish print of juicy-coloured Cadillacs worked into silk maxi dresses, PJ's and dressing gowns, and Cohiba-cigar-smoking male models. Other highlights included khaki army jackets with tweed backs, tobacco sweater dressing, and black crochet dresses and backpacks - crochet is a celebrated craft here where much less spectacular "Chanel" versions are sold as souvenirs in the old town. A finalé of sequin mini dresses in spearmint, yellow, and peach matched the cars we arrived in.
Once everyone had filed out, back to that procession of honking cars, we were whisked to the after-party held at the Plaza de la Catedral, which had been revamped into a traditional Cuban beach house, whereupon a display of crackling lightening danced across the black sky. Only Chanel.
Staging a show on a Caribbean island under communist rule is no mean feat. In the weeks running up to the festivities Chinese whispers circled that Chanel was bringing in Wi-Fi. It didn't. Which was a pity as it would have certainly been helpful (there are only 30 locations on the island that are connected). Understandably, Karl Lagerfeld simply can't do everything, just like he can't put a stop to those pesky mosquitos and the more pressing concern of the Zika virus. What he can do, however, is fumigate every venue on the four day schedule from restaurants to the show venue - as he did.
Highlights on the itinerary ranged from a tour of old Havana town; a visit to a cigar factory and to Ernest Hemingway's house hidden at the end of a mango tree-lined driveway in the poorer, southern suburbs; and dinner at Atelier, the very same restaurant that Michelle Obama and her daughters dined at during the president's historic visit in March. (Locals delight in Obama's efforts to chart a new course in US relations with Cuba that will engage and empower Cubans by adjusting regulations and improving travel and import policies.)
As guests soaked up the culture of this city and all its faded grandeur, thoughts turned to the show and just what Lagerfeld might send out against his Cuban backdrop. Some Fifties sass, perhaps, rendered in sun-blasted would-be-brights; the sort of colours that decorate the crumbling Spanish colonial architecture here. There was that, and more, in abundance.
In 35-degree heat and what felt like 100 per cent humidity, the evening began with 170 colourful vintage cars from Cadillacs to Chevrolets to transport guests to El Paseo Del Prado, the chosen show venue in central Havana. One of the city's most emblematic thoroughfares, it was redesigned in 1928 at the request of the Cuban president by French landscape architect, Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier.
It's decorated with eight bronze lions by French sculptor, Jean Puiforcat, and Cuban sculptor, Juan Comas, which perfectly illustrates the ties between France and Cuba - hardly a more fitting venue for a Chanel show in Cuba, then. As the 600 show-goers took their seats on benches either side of what formed a 160-metre catwalk, the balconies of the bordering houses teemed with locals who were in raptures over the sight of guests including Gisele, Vanessa Paradis and in particular, Vin Diesel, who is in Havana filming the The Fast and The Furious 8. (They must be wondering what on earth has descended upon their city this year: first, the Rolling Stones performed a free concert attended by 1.2 million people - which adds up to half the population of Havana - and now, this.)
Stella Tennant may have opened the show, dressed in boyish monochrome pinstripe trousers, brogues and a black tailored blazer topped with a straw trilby (it was a fast star turn; her flight departed a few hours later), but some of the models cast were local girls.
Highlights on the itinerary ranged from a tour of old Havana town; a visit to a cigar factory and to Ernest Hemingway's house hidden at the end of a mango tree-lined driveway in the poorer, southern suburbs; and dinner at Atelier, the very same restaurant that Michelle Obama and her daughters dined at during the president's historic visit in March. (Locals delight in Obama's efforts to chart a new course in US relations with Cuba that will engage and empower Cubans by adjusting regulations and improving travel and import policies.)
In 35-degree heat and what felt like 100 per cent humidity, the evening began with 170 colourful vintage cars from Cadillacs to Chevrolets to transport guests to El Paseo Del Prado, the chosen show venue in central Havana. One of the city's most emblematic thoroughfares, it was redesigned in 1928 at the request of the Cuban president by French landscape architect, Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier.
Stella Tennant may have opened the show, dressed in boyish monochrome pinstripe trousers, brogues and a black tailored blazer topped with a straw trilby (it was a fast star turn; her flight departed a few hours later), but some of the models cast were local girls.
Nods to the city ran from subtle to all-out obvious. On the quieter front were tiered ballerina skirts crafted from white, banana-leaf-shaped organza appliqué, and on the shoutier side were Che Guevara-style berets rendered in black sequins, retro-looking T-shirts emblazoned with "Coco Cuba" layered under tweed suits, a cartoon-ish print of juicy-coloured Cadillacs worked into silk maxi dresses, PJ's and dressing gowns, and Cohiba-cigar-smoking male models. Other highlights included khaki army jackets with tweed backs, tobacco sweater dressing, and black crochet dresses and backpacks - crochet is a celebrated craft here where much less spectacular "Chanel" versions are sold as souvenirs in the old town. A finalé of sequin mini dresses in spearmint, yellow, and peach matched the cars we arrived in.
Once everyone had filed out, back to that procession of honking cars, we were whisked to the after-party held at the Plaza de la Catedral, which had been revamped into a traditional Cuban beach house, whereupon a display of crackling lightening danced across the black sky. Only Chanel.
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