Karl Lagerfeld is the latest fashion designer to look to Cuba for inspiration, debuting Chanel's "Resort 2017" collection in Havana in a dazzling runway extravaganza. Chanel will be the first major fashion house to send models down the catwalk in Cuba, highlighting thawing political relations. The event also attracts supermodel Gisele Bundchen and Hollywood actors like Vin Diesel and Tilda Swinton. 

Karl-Lagerfeld glamour comes to Cuba

The Chanel show is a first for Latin America and took place on Havana's Paseo del Prado, a leafy promenade lined with marble benches, ornate street lamps, and bronze lions that leads down to the Caribbean seashore.

With the setting harking back to Cuba's golden era, the muted colours, hats, and understated romance of the Chanel collection were a good fit for the Havana backdrop.

Lagerfeld, who has been at Chanel's creative helm since 1983, says his latest inter-seasonal collection was inspired by the "cultural richness and opening up of Cuba".

Oscar-winning actress, Tilda Swinton, is in Cuba for the first time.

By showcasing its Cruise collection in Cuba, Chanel said it is harking back to the roots of the line originally designed for wealthy Americans holidaying on yachts and cruises in the Caribbean to escape the winter grey. Cuba is fast becoming one of the world's most fashionable destinations, as tourists and the style elite seek to savor faded glamour and Caribbean flair before it changes too much.