Louis Vuitton pulls $705 blue and white ‘keffiyeh stole’ after backlash
Fashion brand Louis Vuitton has pulled a $705 scarf from sale on its website after the famed luxury brand was accused of culturally appropriating the keffiyeh, the scarf often used as a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.
Louis Vuitton was accused of causing further offense with the decision to make its “Monogram Keffieh Stole” in blue and white — Israel’s national colors.
According to the Independent newspaper, the scarf was described on the fashion firm’s website as: “inspired by the classic Keffieh and enriched with House signatures.”
“A jacquard weave technique is used to create the intricate Monogram patterns on its base of blended cotton, wool and silk. Soft and lightweight with fringed edges, this timeless accessory creates an easygoing mood,” the website said.
The furor began after the clothing item was spotted by fashion blogger Diet Prada, with a post on Instagram reading: “So LVMH’s stance on politics is “neutral,” but they’re still making a $705 logo-emblazoned keffiyeh, which is a traditional Arab headdress that’s become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.”
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
The reference to the fashion house remaining “neutral” apparently referred to rumors that Louis Vuitton considered dropping supermodel Bella Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, after she posted a picture on Instagram with a series of images of two illustrated women talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
One of the women asks, “So aren’t Israelis and Palestinians just fighting over religion?”
The other woman responds: “They are not ‘fighting,’ Israelis are the oppressors and Palestinians are the oppressed and the situation is about anything but religion.”
The image was posted during the most recent round of violence between Israel and Gaza-based terror groups.
Last month the region saw its most intense violence since 2014 as Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,000 rockets at Israel and the Israeli military pummeled the Strip with strikes targeting the groups’ infrastructure and weaponry.
Louis Vuitton Resort 2022 Menswear Collection
Here’s a headline for the hypebeasts: Virgil Abloh and Nigo have reunited for a second round of their LV² collaboration. The capsule collection brought together the luxury streetwear OG and his most successful disciple. “Me being at Louis Vuitton is directly attributable to work Nigo’s done in the past,” Abloh said at the time. “A collab project with him—it puts his work in the right context.” But when it launched last year in the early days of the pandemic, it was unclear if it’d be a one-off or a regular thing.
In the interim, Abloh and Nigo decided they had more to say. “Being authentic to yourself, you can’t acquire it,” Abloh said on a call. “These are things you get with age and maturity. We’re not the youngest kids in fashion design in our space. As you get older and wiser, what does that look like in terms of fashion design? That’s why I wanted to do this project.”
Abloh turned 40 last September, but even still there’s a young, playful spirit to this drop, with its more obvious nods to Nigo’s Human Made iconography and its sampling of Vuitton’s own famous monogram. The new LV Made logo replicates Human Made’s font, and the menagerie of wild animals—from the tiger rug detailing on totes and briefcases to the duck-shaped monogram bags—are riffs on the Japanese designer’s home codes. “The first season we did the unexpected by not employing a graphic look and feel,” Abloh said. “But since both of our careers have been championing this strain with fashion design, those graphic motifs take a more prominent space in this collection.”
The Vuitton monogram gets a real workout here, most often in denim that’s been camouflaged in the drippy shapes that are a signature of another of Nigo’s lines, Icecream. The familiar damier check, meanwhile, has been supersized and given the scalloped edges of postage stamps in a reference to the manner in which the collection came together between Tokyo, Paris, and Abloh’s Chicago homebase. “Nigo shipped his archive of cherished items to my studio and we worked on it basically by FedEx and Zoom.” The silhouettes are classic and straightforward, a mix of American workwear, English schoolboy tailoring, and Japanese kimonos, with the odd poncho thrown in, a trending shape.
So, are Abloh and Nigo going to make this a regular thing? “Nigo’s a legend, to be able to create collections not as a one-off but as an evolving set of ideas it’s gratifying on a different level,” Abloh said. “But we don’t plan that far ahead. As a purveyor of ‘how do you make things interesting’—that’s sort of my PhD.—it’s not a marketing event. This isn’t that. What I like is this artist-in-residence type of thing. I have friends, they can come to my studio, and if they see something they want to make, let’s do it.”
The Masked Dancer UK: Carwash wins as he’s revealed as Louis Smith
Louis Smith had the judges thrilled with his performances (Picture: ITV & Rex)
The Masked Dancer UK has crowned its winner, with Carwash coming out on top and being unmasked as Louis Smith.
After a tense final, Olympic gymnast Louis beat the competition with judges Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan and Oti Mabuse left thrilled by his performances.
Asked why he decided to take part, Louis explained: ‘I love the singer version, I love dancing and I love performing.’
‘My character is so fun and full of energy and is such a laugh,’ he added, admitting it was difficult to keep the secret.
Louis was crowned the winner after battling it out against Zip (Take That’s Howard Donald), Squirrel (Bonnie Langsford) and Scarecrow (Tamzin Outhwaite).
What were the clues?
A red Ferrari
A busted car wash sign
Is ready to pop bubbles
They like to perform
They’re ready to ‘let it shine’
Didn’t have a typical childhood
Returned to their early interest
Hinted at reality show past
‘Artistic’
Joined members of boyband and girlband
Inspired young people
Asked to say a meaningful word in their own voice, Carwash said ‘hot tub’
‘Double trouble’
They said they ‘let it shine’ – potentially a Take That clue
They have a connection to skiing
There was a pigeon gatecrashing the set for one performance
Given a peek into their dressing room, judges saw some dice and a comic book-themed T-shirt
The final episode of the series came after a string of double eliminations, with Knickerbocker Glory being revealed as none other than Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, while Frog turned out to be Kelly Brook.
Previously, Beagle was unmasked as ice skating legend Christopher Dean and Llama was revealed to be Zoe Ball.
Before then, pro dancer and Diversity star Jordan Banjo, singer and media personality Louise Redknapp, and Burlesque performer Dita Von Teese were unmasked.
The Masked Dancer is based on the wildly popular format of The Masked Singer, which has seen stars including Sophie Ellis Bextor, Mel B, and Nicola Roberts compete.
The Masked Dancer is available on catch-up on the ITV Hub.
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
For more stories like this, check our entertainment page.
Follow Metro.co.uk Entertainment on Twitter and Facebook for the latest celeb and entertainment updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
MORE : The Masked Dancer UK: Davina McCall jokes she’s in a ‘plunge-off’ with Amanda Holden over outfits
MORE : The Masked Dancer UK: Frog unmasked as Kelly Brook is eliminated just before final