Louis Vuitton has sparked controversy by introducing an $820 t-shirt featuring a graphic logo reminiscent of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) flag, reports The Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The luxury French fashion designer released the shirt last week, attracting attention for its design, which includes the brand’s iconic LV logo in red, black, white, and green—the colors associated with the PLO flag.
Despite assertions from industry insiders, as noted by the JTA, suggesting that the conception of the design predates the recent conflict with Hamas, the timing of its release has not stopped some from believing it’s a political statement.
“I know that if I was to make something that became a political statement that was triggering, I wouldn’t sell it,” said Lizzy Savetsky, a Jewish influencer in New York City who debuted an Israeli-flag parody of the shirt on her Instagram account.
“But that’s just me personally. And something as innocuous as a watermelon has now come to mean something much more serious. And the thing that I do take issue with is that the pro-Palestinian crowd is taking it to mean that Louis Vuitton is pro-Palestinian, even though they’re not. And it’s just not a good look,” she added.
No comment has been made by Louis Vuitton regarding the controversy.
Middle East politics have embroiled Louis Vuitton in controversy before. In 2021, the high-end fashion brand introduced a “Monogram Keffieh Stole,” a symbol of Arab nationalism.
