On Thursday (October 17), Donald Trump cut the ribbon at the opening of a new Louis Vuitton factory in Texas. You probably remember it for his questionable pronunciation of the label’s name: “Looie Vooton.”
Of course, though, there’s also the unavoidable political message that the opening sends: a message that Nicolas Ghesquière is pushing back against. In the caption to an Instagram posted this morning, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of womenswear writes: “Standing against any political action. I am a fashion designer refusing this association.”
Obviously, that’s a pretty vague message in and of itself, but the hashtags that follow – “#trumpisajoke #homophobia” – are less ambiguous.
The accompanying image shows the cover of Evelyn Thomas’s “High Energy”, a dance song that was prominent in gay clubs in the mid 80s.
While Ghesquière’s open stance against Trump is bold, it’s also not completely unsurprising. In his work he’s championed diversity, casting trans models at his shows and backing the breaking of gender boundaries in fashion, saying: “Seeing so many gender fluid and queer models being represented and being able to just be themselves is really inspiring.”
He’s also welcomed the Pose actor and activist Indya Moore into fashion, casting them in a jewellery campaign. One of fashion’s most prominent trans models, Teddy Quinlivan – who has worked with Ghesquière repeatedly at LV – commented her support on the post, writing: “Thank you for standing on the right side of history.”
As Louis Vuitton shares a parent company – LVMH – with many other fashion brands, including Fendi, Fenty, Céline, and Dior, it’s yet to be seen if any other designers will speak out.
