This skiing season in Courchevel, France, will be less cold than usual. The warmth will not be the result of the temperature but rather of the clothes, footwear and accessories of Chanel’s 2016/2017 Cruise Collection, inspired on Cuba.
The prestigious fashion house announced in a press release that the Cruise Collection, an aesthetic inquiry into the island’s culture and visualization, will be present from December 14 to April 2017 in the ephemeral boutique that Chanel opened in the French nation’s ski station of Courchevel, which has the highest demand.
“Stretching over 160 square meters and two floors, this beautiful space is inspired on Cuba’s architecture and vibrant colors. As a tribute to the 2016/2017 Cruise Collection, the set design mixes Havana’s atmosphere with Chanel’s codes.”
Courchevel’s pop up store had been opened in the winter of 2013, when haute couture took over the French Alps, not just inside the boutique, but also in the telephone booths, in which “portraits of Mademoiselle Coco, Karl Lagerfeld and sketches of Chanel’s most representative symbols, from camellias to the double “C,” said Vogue’s review from that time.
Last May Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s creative director, landed in the Cuban capital with his troupe, in what was considered the first visit by a luxury fashion house to the island. The Kaiser himself described the event as a “historic and mischievous revolution that will live on in the annals of the house’s springtime ritual.”
In the press release issued apropos the event Chanel refers to it as a “historic and mischievous revolution that will live on in the annals of the house’s springtime ritual.” She also speaks of a “spirit of insolent modernity, of boyish femininity.”
The collection’s thread was the reinterpretation of the guayabera, named by Lagerfeld the “Cuban tuxedo.”
This event once again turned the world’s spotlights on Cuba during a year which especially featured a great deal of press coverage, including President Barack Obama’s visit, the passing of entertainment and cultural celebrities through the island, a Major League Baseball team’s game and the shooting of Hollywood movies.
Afterwards, in October, the collection’s publicity campaign was launched, featuring models Stella Tennant and Mica Argañaraz. The photo session and the filming of the promotional video were made in Saint Tropez, perhaps in an attempt to evoke the coast, the waters and the streets of Havana. The Cruise Collection has been on sale since November in Chanel boutiques.
