‘Thrill’ of parading Louis Vuitton bags breathes new life into Sandton City
It’s “the thrill of the bag” - the excitement of carrying a Louis Vuitton designer bag around Sandton City - bringing life back to the mall that has become known as Africa’s ultimate shopping destination, Liberty2Degrees CEO Amelia Beattie said on Monday.
L2D also owns Nelson Mandela Square, the Sandton Convention Centre and three hotels that were often filled to capacity by conference goers for most of the year before Covid-19.
Louis Vuitton ‘Jamaica jumper’ features wrong flag colours
Louis Vuitton has been criticised for producing a jumper that pays tribute to the flag of Jamaica – but in the wrong colours.
The label’s £995 menswear item, called the Jamaican Stripe Jumper online, featured three wide stripes in green, yellow and red. But the flag of Jamaica is green, yellow and black.
The error was called out online, with @pam_boy tweeting: “I cannot stress enough how important it is to implement diversity as a value and not a symbol within fashion companies.”
Others were quick to point out that the jumper appeared to be inspired by the Rastafarian flag (which featured the Lion of Judah at its centre), the religious movement with its roots in Jamaica, instead of the official Jamaican flag.
“So no one at Louis Vuitton googled the Jamaican flag?” asked Twitter user Black Women Matter.
Cedella, the daughter of Bob and Rita Marley, also commented, posting on Instagram: “Bob says that’s the Ethiopian flag @Louisvuitton”, with an embarrassed face emoji, beneath a photo of Marley looking displeased.
When the item first appeared online, the product description read: “With striped design inspired by Caribbean island’s national flag.” After updating the description of the jumper to remove the word “flag” and swap it with “cultural heritage”, the product was pulled from the official Vuitton website. Clicking on the link, you now get a “404 page not found” error message.
“Traditional Rastafari symbols and imagery have been popularised and used extensively in commercial products, ranging from T-shirts, jewellery, arts and crafts items, smoking paraphernalia, hats, clothes, bags and shoes,” wrote Jamaican attorney Marcus Goffe in 2011. “Very few of these products are made by Rastafarians and none of the monies accrued from their sales benefits the Rastafarian community.”
Louis Vuitton’s creative director, Virgil Abloh, who is the son of Ghanaian parents (the colours of the Ghanaian flag are green, golden yellow and red), has previously done a sneaker collaboration with Jamaican skateboarder Lucien Clarke.
Luxury fashion has got into trouble before for producing culturally offensive items, such as Gucci’s blackface jumper and Burberry’s noose hoodie. Last year, Comme des Garçons sent white models down their menswear runway wearing dreadlock wigs.
Many have commented online that this points to the need for having more diverse teams at fashion houses, working at every level in order to battle structural racism and avoid issues like the Louis Vuitton one happening again.
In a statement, Louis Vuitton told the Guardian: “We deeply regret the error in the description on our e-commerce site and we have corrected the information. The sweater is from the spring-summer 2021 men’s collection, throughout which green, yellow and red, the colors of the Ethiopian flag and a hallmark of African independence, were used, including to pay tribute to the Ghanaian heritage of our menswear designer Virgil Abloh.”
Louis Vuitton unveiled a $1,366 ‘Jamaican Stripe Jumper’ inspired by the island’s flag, but the pullover features the wrong colors
Louis Vuitton released a “Jamaican Stripe Jumper” for more than $1,300 on its website.
The sweater was inspired by the Jamaican national flag but featured the wrong colors.
People on Twitter blasted the fashion house for being culturally insensitive.
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Louis Vuitton is under fire for selling a pullover sweater inspired by Jamaica’s national flag — but the expensive item featured the wrong colors.
The luxury fashion house kicked off Black History Month with a fashion gaffe that upset fans and stirred accusations that it used Jamaica’s culture for profit.
The sweater’s incorrect design was flagged by the fashion critic Twitter account @PAM_BOY, who shared screenshots of the sweater, description, and a photo of the Jamaican flag.
Louis Vuitton’s $1,366 sweater, knitted from lightweight Japanese cotton yarn, “channels the collection’s Jamaican Parade theme, with a striped design inspired by the Caribbean island’s national flag,” according to a screenshot of the description shared by @PAM_BOY.
It featured three large stripes of green, yellow, and red. However, Jamaica’s national flag is green, yellow, and black.
“I cannot stress enough how important it is to implement diversity as a value and not a symbol within fashion companies,” PAM_BOY wrote.
As of Sunday, the sweater was noticeably absent from its website, and the word “Jamaica” now pulls zero results when entered into the search bar. Links to the sweater’s page end with a “404 page not found” error message.
The Jamaican Stripe Jumper was not available on the website Sunday, and a “404 page not found” error message appeared on the site. Louis Vuitton
However, photos of the sweater were spotted on BuyMa, a Japanese personal shopping website for rare and limited-edition fashion items.
Louis Vuitton did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment.
Social media commentators flamed Louis Vuitton over the mix-up
After screenshots of the sweater’s product page were circulated online, commentators on social media didn’t hold back in criticizing the brand for what many called carelessness.
“The flag literally pops up if you type Jamaica into your phone. How little effort can people go to and still not get checked or corrected!” one user wrote.
—Elly 🌿 Take It Up Wear It Out (@Takeitupwearit) February 2, 2021
“Louis Vuitton is selling a $1730 Jamaican Stripe Pullover, with the wrong flag, and absolutely no business using Jamaica in this way,” one user said, before referencing the Men’s Artistic Director for the brand, Virgil Abloh. “Also, why is it out of stock already? Someone call Virgil.”
One person suggested that Louis Vuitton “donate the proceeds to the schools in Jamaica as an apology cuz this is EMBARRASSING for us.”
“So no one at Louis Vuitton googled the Jamaican Flag?” another said.
A few users snapped additional screenshots of the description of the sweater, which appeared to change online after the backlash unfolded. The new description claimed the design was instead inspired by “the Caribbean island’s cultural heritage.”
“Can somebody tell @LouisVuitton this is NOT how to handle the issue? Changing the description doesn’t erase the disrespect to Jamaican people and culture,” one tweet said.
Twitter users pointed out that the pullover appeared to draw inspiration from the Rastafarian flag, which refers to the religious movement often symbolized by green, yellow, and red.
Read more: Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh is being criticized for flexing a $50 donation to a bail fund
“I also want to point out to @LouisVuitton - because they obviously don’t know - that Jamaica ≠ Rastafari. That’s very obviously the cliché they wanted to send across, and this is even more disrespectful than not caring enough to check the colors of the flag for profit,” a user wrote.
—Armelle Aurelya Ferguson (@armelleferguson) February 3, 2021
A small group of people, including Bob and Rita Marley’s daughter, suggested the flag resembled the Ethiopian flag.
“Bob says that’s the Ethiopian flag @louisvuitton,” wrote Cedella Marley on Instagram.
A post shared by Cedella Marley (@cedellamarley)
The tweets mark the most recent incident in which Louis Vuitton and other luxury fashion houses have been criticized for culturally insensitive ensembles in recent years.
In 2019, Gucci was forced to apologize after people noted that its $900 sweater suggested blackface. That same year, Burberry faced backlash for presenting a hoodie that had a noose tied around the neck. Comme des Garçons received heat after Paris Fashion Week because its models donned cornrow wigs.