Nicolas Ghesquière, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton women’s wear and the most known high-fashion creatives in the business made it clear that he is very anti-Trump, calling the President a “joke” and accused him of homophobia after the president visited a new Louis Vuitton factory.
President Trump on Thursday attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new workshop in Alvarado, Texas alongside LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who owns Louis Vuitton and Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke.
Following Trump’s appearance at the opening of a new Louis Vuitton factory in Texas, Ghesquiére over the weekend commented on the appearance publicly on his personal Instagram account to the association.
“Standing against any political action. I am a fashion designer refusing this association,” adding the hashtags #TrumpIsAJoke and #Homophobia. The photo featured the cover of Evelyn Thomas club hit “High Energy,” the 1984 disco song that is featured in the SoBe Music compilation album “Gay Classics, Volume 1: Ridin’ the Rainbow.”
The post received praise from many industry figures, including Louis Vuitton’s accessories creative director Camille Miceli, who commented on Ghesquière’s post with clapping hands and heart emojis, Anne-Marie Curtis, designer Giambattista Valli, former editor-in-chief of Elle U.K, and transgender model Teddy Quinlivan.
Louis Vuitton, which is owned by French conglomerate LVMH, recently signed the Trump administration’s Pledge to America’s Workers. As part of the pledge, the brand has opened three workshops in the United States — two in California and the one in Johnson County, Texas — to manufacture goods labeled “Made in the USA.”
Arnault, at the ceremony stated he was honored to have President Trump attend for his brand commitment to the American market and workers.
“This shows two commitments: One, the commitment of LVMH to the American market, and two, the commitment of President Trump to the American worker,” Arnault said. “We are very honored to have the president of the United States. I’m not here to judge any types of policies. I’m here to work with my brand and we are going to, over five years, have 1,000 people working here and that’s what matters.”
Online calls to boycott Vuitton have gained limited traction. GrabYourWallet, the advocacy group that pressured consumers and retailers to boycott against companies that have any connections to President Trump has now added Louis Vuitton to its list of brands that should be boycotted.
Ghesquière has worked with Louis Vuitton since 2013. As the head of women’s wear, Ghesquière is responsible for the runway collections and works on the fashion accessories such as the bag collaborations and limited-edition lines seen on the runway. He has made a name for himself by putting transgender models in his show as well as having transgender artist perform during the runway show. For the Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2020 show in Paris last month, models walked in front of a screen which showed Scottish transgender singer Sophie Xeon singing “It’s Okay to Cry.”
Louis Vuitton has yet to publicly comment on Ghesquière’s Instagram post.
Bernard ArnaultFashionLouis VuittonNicolas GhesquièrePolitical FashionPresident Trump
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