ALBAWABA - French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton was accused by Romanians of cultural appropriation after its latest collection featuring white blouses with black prints.
Villagers in Vaideeni were angry after the French brand released its latest "LV by the pool" collection and accused the fashion house of "stealing" the design of their traditional blouse.
Louis Vuitton released its latest summer collection featuring a white blouse embroidered with black motifs sparking wide controversy that the French fashion house has inspired the new collection from Vaideeni traditional blouse, known as "ie" blouse, without credit.
Romania's activist group La Blouse Roumaine have been calling many international brands including Yves Saint-Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier and Kenzo to give credit to the original place when it comes to Romanian folk costumes, AFP reported.
According to AFP, the group had earlier made more than one complaint against brands that design clothes inspired by the Romanian culture without credit, but their complaints gained "mixed results".
Not only the similar print that has angered people in Romania but also that the fact that the "ie" blouse is usually worn on traditional occasions and now Louis Vuitton is promoting it as a beach wear.
La Blouse Roumaine founder Andreea Tanasescu confirmed that people in the Vaideeni village felt "offended".
Nonetheless, AFP reported that the Romanian culture minister called LV to acknowledge the heritage. after the fuss the new collection made, media reports said that the French brand apologised and stopped selling the blouse.
