LOUIS VUITTON ACCUSED OF STEALING ROMANIAN VILLAGERS' TRADITIONAL BLOUSE DESIGNS

The French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has been accused of ‘stealing’ the traditional blouse designs of Romanian villagers. Villagers in Vaideeni at the foot of Romania's Carpathian mountains have slammed Louis Vuitton for stealing their designs. 

People have called out to the luxury brand to acknowledge the inspirations of their designs that have gained popularity in recent years, as the brand has been faced with accusations of cultural appropriation and exploiting the heritage of minority groups.

Maria Gioanca, 69, one of two dozen women, told AFP she "won't let the costume be stolen" for fancy beach wear. These women still hand sew the black and white garments in the village. 

Since 2017, the activist group La Blouse Roumaine in Romania has been asking the luxury brand to come clean and ‘credit’ the origin places when their designs or clothes are similar to or are inspired by Romanian folk costumes. 

Violating Cultural Rights

Accusing the French company of ‘violating the cultural rights of the communities’, La Blouse Roumaine founder Andreea Tanasescu said people felt offended that a blouse traditionally worn on special occasions is used as beach wear.

"You have to be very careful... It's better you go and talk to the community, spend time there," the former casting director, 49, told AFP, adding fashion could help "protect and promote cultural heritage" if there was an exchange.

Several seamstresses in Vaideeni had not heard about the luxury brand Louis Vuitton but noticed similar designs to their traditional ‘ie’ blouses. When they saw a photo of the French brand’s white linen blouse embroidered with black motifs for their new ‘LV by the Pool’ collection, they detected the similarity. 

In accordance with the same, the Romanian culture minister asked the company to acknowledge the heritage last month. But the brand declined to comment when contacted by AFP but confirmed to media reports that it had apologised to Romania and had stopped selling the blouse. Now, it no longer appears on the brand’s website, as per reports. 

‘Scared’ For Future

Romanian traditional clothes and textiles have ‘an exceptional, special aesthetic’, according to textile specialist Florica Zaharia, pointing at the blouse's "discretion and elegance".

“There is a beauty that we cannot ignore," said Zaharia, who opened the first textiles museum in Romania in 2018 after almost 30 years working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

It's like ‘airing dirty laundry in public’, Romanian Peasant Museum curator Horatiu Ilea said, adding ‘the only thing’ that could help is for young people to learn the crafts.

"I'm a bit scared (about the future), but we won't give up here," said Staniloiu, whose daughter and four granddaughters have all left the village to look for work elsewhere.

Some women In Vaideeni have recently taken up the craft they learned from their elders, but it is far from easy. They say it takes at least a month to sew a blouse selling for around 300 to 400 euros ($320-$430), and they don't exactly sell like hotcakes.

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