The designer didn’t hold back.
Last week, Donald Trump visited the new Louis Vuitton factory in Johnson County, Texas. Upon invitation from Bernard Arnault, the CEO and chairman of LVMH (Vuitton’s – or “Voo-ton” if you’re Trump – parent company), Trump toured the facility before standing front and centre for the official ribbon cutting ceremony.
At the event, Arnault was quick to distance himself from Trump’s politics, telling the New York Times, “I am not here to judge his types of policies. I have no political role. I am a business person. I try to tell him what I think for the success of the economy of the country, and the success of what we are doing.”
That wasn’t enough to appease the brand’s womenswear designer however with Nicolas Ghesquière taking to Instagram to share his feelings about the American leader.
Accompanied by an image of the cover of the 1984 Evelyn Thomas song High Energy, Ghesquière wrote, “Standing against any political action. I am a fashion designer refusing this association #trumpisajoke #homophobia.”
Transgender model Teddy Quinlivan praised the designer for his stance, commenting, “Thank you for standing on the right side of history.” The post was also commented on by Canadian celebrity stylist Karla Welch (who recently launched virtual styling app Wishi), American stylist Elizabeth Stewart and Joe Zee. Louis Vuitton’s creative director of accessories, Camille Miceli, also commented with hearts and clapping emojis. Former Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner, Kenzo designer Humberto Leon, and designer Phillip Lim were amongst the thousands who liked the post.
According to WWD, a spokesperson for the brand said it would not comment on the post.
Last week, Vuitton was named as the most valuable global fashion brand for 2019 by marketing consultancy Interbrand. It beat out Hermès and Chanel to come in number 17th on the list overall.