Meet Clandestina, the Cuban brand speaking to a new generation

One innovative designer has found a way around both the regime and the US embargo and become the first Cuban clothing company to ship anywhere in the world

When Havana-based designer Idania del Río runs out of ink for silk-screen printing T-shirts, it’s likely the rest of Cuba has too. When she needs to buy buttons, she scours 10 different stores to find enough. And when she wants to send an email, she has to walk one mile from Clandestina, her independent design shop, to the nearest public wifi hotspot. And yet, despite the shortage of materials and scarce internet access – the ordinary strictures of operating a business under the country’s socialist regime – Clandestina has become the first Cuban brand to launch an online store shipping anywhere in the world – including the US.

Cubans have a profound sense of fashion and want the latest trends, but there was a lack of contemporary brands

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2BwQCvA