Chanel in Cuba: The Reality Behind the Luxury Show

French luxury fashion house Chanel has just staged an elaborate Resort 2017 show in Cuba's capital, Havana. The beautiful streets of the city became the catwalk, while guests sat on the tree-lined promenade and watched from balconies perched on the city's famously rainbow-coloured buildings. Chanel is known for staging shows in a whole range of cities around the world - but coming to Cuba in particular has been met with scepticism.

Reports emerged that homeless people were removed from the city's cathedral square in order to make way for the show. Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion at Chanel, explained that the label has no market in Cuba and so won't be boosting sales in the country itself from the show. Instead, he believes staging the show there is helping the economy of the country. He explained: “Chanel has nothing to gain from showing here right now.” A statement made about the show read:"The cultural richness and the opening of Cuba to the world became a source of inspiration for Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel." 

The average Cuban takes home a £3,000 salary a year - around the price of one Chanel bag - so it's easy to see why the show is being seen by some as a distasteful. A model wearing a black beret - a nod to Castro? What do you think about Chanel in Cuba?