• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

  • HOME
  • SHOP
  • ABOUT
  • FAQ
  • CONTACT

Louis Vuitton Is Cancelled for Me

October 22, 2019 by WendyB

How the hell did I miss this Jan. 9, 2017, photo of LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault gazing adoringly at the usurper Donald Trump?

Embed from Getty Images

I would have cancelled LVMH’s Louis Vuitton brand at that moment, rather than waiting till last week, when Arnault and Trump again made eyes at each other at Louis Vuitton’s new factory in Texas.

Embed from Getty Images

It was at the January 2017 get-together that France’s Arnault first floated the idea of a Louis Vuitton factory in either the Carolinas or Texas, according to a June 22, 2017, story on the Business of Fashion. Considering Trump’s rise to power was assisted by his song-and-dance about increasing manufacturing jobs in the U.S., this was blatant currying of favor as well as a prime example of TOO MUCH being NEVER ENOUGH for the ultra-rich and greedy. You see, according to Forbes, Arnault is the second-richest man in the world, so prior to November 2016, he could have bought and sold the perpetually debt-ridden Trump until the Texas cows came home. But Trump stumbled into great power, and the very rich fetishize power while the very powerful fetishize wealth. Voilà! A leather workshop appears in Keene, Texas. The favor-granting didn’t end there, of course: In exchange for 1,000 jobs over five years, Johnson County gave Louis Vuitton a 10-year, 75% tax abatement. Are you wondering why a multi-billionaire feels the need to pinch pennies by hustling for tax breaks? Well, how do you think he got so rich in the first place? It probably wasn’t by paying his fair share. It never is — ask some rich people. They’ll tell you! They’re proud of it.

I always hope that the artistically inclined will do better than the financially obsessed, so it was good to see that Nicolas Ghesquière, the artistic director for Louis Vuitton’s women’s collections, called out Arnault’s Trump relationship.

View this post on Instagram

Standing against any political action. I am a fashion designer refusing this association #trumpisajoke #homophobia

A post shared by @ nicolasghesquiere on Oct 19, 2019 at 8:33pm PDT

That said, if Ghesquière keeps getting his paycheck from LVMH, his Instagram post is just … an Instagram post. As for me, the #slowfashion maven, I hardly ever get rid of anything, so I guess I’m keeping all the Vuitton I already own. A lot of it is artist collaborations, so I will hopefully still find enjoyment in my Grace Coddington bag, my Takashi Murakami bag, and Stephen Sprouse bags. But MrB will have to come up with a new idea for birthdays, because I can’t imagine feeling anything like my past joy for new Vuitton. It’s not that I think depriving Monsieur Arnault of a once-a-year purchase will cause him any pain, but if luxury goods come with bad vibes, what’s the point? It makes me think of this line that people always toss around about fine jewelry: “No one NEEDS jewelry.” Well, I’m probably as far away from NEEDING anything from Vuitton as Arnault is from paying his pledge to rebuild Notre Dame.

Oh yeah, Trump lovin’ and tax-break scouting aren’t the only things I dislike about Arnault. I was originally impressed and relieved when the Arnault family pledged €200 million to rebuild the Notre Dame cathedral after it was ravaged by fire in April. However, by the end of June, only €10 million — 5% — had been released. According to the Observer, the issue was control:

“LVMH and other big donors contributing to the Notre Dame reconstruction effort were reluctant to release their committed funds because they wanted to see their money spent on actual restoration projects, not preparatory work, such as debris cleanup.”

What kind of nonsense is that? This fire spread dangerous lead all over Paris, but Louis Vuitton doesn’t want any clean-up work done with its money? That work isn’t fancy enough or something? Dang! Maybe Arnault figures it doesn’t matter — what with the camel not fitting through the eye of the needle — but in case he does hope to buy his way into the Good Place, failing to come through on a promise to a cathedral is a major demerit.

via GIPHY

UPDATED TO ADD: This weekend, The New York Times had a good story about the acquisitive compulsions of the ultra-wealthy.

Click to read the New York Times story.

You might also like
This Post Is Not for the Sensitive
Practical Accessorizing: Tiaras and Shields
September 11 and Fear Itself

Filed Under: In the News, news, politics, rants Tagged With: bernard arnault, capitalism, louis vuitton, never trump

Previous Post: « The Week in Review
Next Post: What Wendy Wore: WD-40 and 2004 Versace »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dana says

    October 24, 2019 at 12:55 am

    Ugh. Stomach turning

    • WendyB says

      October 24, 2019 at 11:34 pm

      Seriously. I’m going to think of this every time I use one of my bags 🙁

Primary Sidebar

MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

ARCHIVES

CATEGORIES

Facebook Pagelike Widget

POPULAR TOPICS

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe for Email updates.
* indicates required

Original jewelry designs, photos and text are © Wendy Brandes 2007-2016. All rights reserved.

© 2016 · FOODIE PRO THEME COPYRIGHT BY · SHAY BOCKS GENESIS FRAMEWORK · BUILT ON THE WORDPRESS