It’s been announced this week that the highly-anticipated CHANEL Cruise 2016/17 collection will be presented in Havana, Cuba on May 3rd. Not to brag, but I called it! Well, technically, I guessed the Latin American part of the equation – seeing how there’s never been a CHANEL resort show inspired by a Latin American country before, my senses were telling me that the next cruise collection was going to be shown in Mexico or perhaps Peru, but Cuba totally makes sense. “The cultural richness and opening up of Cuba is a source of inspiration for Karl Lagerfeld and CHANEL” reads the press release, and while I think Havana is going to serve as a gorgeous backdrop for a fashion show, the poverty that I have encountered on my last two trips is certainly going to provide a bit of a shocking contrast.

Last couple of times in Havana, my travel companions and I were swarmed by children and women, begging for pencils, soap, anything really. Luckily, I was prepared, and had a lot of small things to give away. Once in a while, when I am being particularly ungrateful, thoughts of those people flood my thoughts and remind me to be more appreciative of the things we have. Hopefully, with the US loosening travel restrictions and economic policies, and with notable brands like CHANEL injecting money into the local economy, as well as re-awakening interest in tourism to Cuba, quality of life on that beautiful Caribbean island is going to slowly improve. In the meantime, I can’t wait to see what Karl Lagerfeld will dream up for this collection! I anticipate a lot of vibrant colours, inspired by the colourful architecture of Havana, fun coco taxi purses, ruffles, and headscarves.

What do you think of the upcoming CHANEL show in Cuba? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Photo Credit: coco taxis – Flickr (puffy eyes); CHANEL Logo