This is why handheld fans in Spain are enjoying undimmed popularity

As passengers wilted in a packed Madrid metro, one traveller defied the summer heat by snapping open her handheld fan - a quintessential Spanish accessory enjoying undimmed popularity. The burst of coolness drew envious eyes to a must-have item that has retained its relevance thanks to designer creativity and increasingly oppressive summer temperatures, stoked by climate change.

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“Everyone uses a fan here in Spain - children, the elderly, young people, men,” said Arturo Llerandi, owner of the “Casa de Diego” fan boutique in Madrid. “Why? Because it's hot... It’s hotter across Europe and you see fans everywhere.” Llerandi's bustling shop, which has been located in the centre of the Spanish capital for more than two centuries, boasts 10,000 different models of fans.

Bone and lace versions are aimed at women and smaller versions cater to men, all diminutive enough to slip into a jacket pocket, with the most luxurious costing up to 6,000 euros ($7,000). With temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) regularly assailing Madrid in July, the idea of buying a fan as a gift was a no-brainer for customer Carmen Pulido. “It's something to have forever... Lately, it's become essential,” said the 62-year-old legal assistant. For pensioner Rosa Nunez, 69, the “good old fan” has remained her best friend after the batteries of her electronic alternative died. “With handheld fans, the battery runs for a lifetime,” she said with a smile.

Olivier Bernoux, a designer who heads a luxury fan store in Madrid, acknowledged the accessory has “a heavy legacy... perceived as an old object, for the elderly”. But they are “not kitsch, nor for old women", insisted the man whose celebrity clients include pop idol Madonna and US actor Eva Longoria. “Even in New York you find fans due to climate change because you have to find a way to cool down,” said Bernoux.