Spotlight on L.V.

Louis Vuitton is a coveted brand in our society, and Vuitton bags, shoes, jewelry, and accessories simply ooze glamour, elegance, and sophistication.  So I stopped short when I heard Louis Vuitton’s men’s style director, Kim Jones, refer to Vuitton’s Menswear Spring-Summer 2012 collection as “practical” in an interview with International Herald Tribune fashion editor Suzy Menkes.  (Check out the full interview here.)  Everything in the collection is meant to be easily portable and smart for frequent travelers.  The shoes completely flatten (shown below) in order to take up a minimal amount of space when transported, and the bags (one is shown below) are designed to feature functionality. 

However, the inspiration for the collection was what really intrigued me.  Kim Jones utilized his memories of growing up in Africa as a basis for the collection.  Jones also cited Peter Beard, a photographer and artist whose work focused on Africa and African animals, as one of his lifelong heroes.  Beard’s 1965 book End of the Game, which is about the obliteration of African wildlife, was a motivation for the collection.  (Learn more about Peter Beard and his work here.)  In her interview with Jones, Suzy Menkes emphasized wood carvings engraved with the Louis Vuitton symbols that Jones utilized to develop the collection.  The carvings intertwined Jones’ appreciation and love of Africa with the carpentry used to construct Louis Vuitton trunks in the early twentieth century.

The bold red and blue plaid featured in the collection echoes the prints of the “shuka,” a traditional article of clothing worn by the semi-nomadic Maasai tribe of East Africa.  The Maasai is Kenya's most well-known ethnic tribe, although some Maasai live in northern Tanzania.  I included several images below of the Maasai people adorned in the shuka, as well as photographs of Vuitton models sporting items from the Spring-Summer 2012 collection, and the resemblance is striking.  Shukas, which are almost always red and often have a plaid or striped pattern of blue, black or dark purple, are large squares of cloth that are wrapped around the body and over each shoulder.  The shuka is worn by the Maasai for every day purposes, not for tribal rituals or ceremonies.  Red is a color associated with blood and courage, so it is appropriate that shukas are typically worn by male warriors of the Maasai tribe.  The “kanga,” another one-piece garment, and the “kikoy,” which resembles a sarong, are other articles of clothing worn by the Maasai depending on their location. 

People of the Maasai tribe wearing shukas

Maasai warrior

Louis Vuitton runway show for the Menswear Spring-Summer 2012 collection

Louis Vuitton’s use of the simple, yet vibrant pattern of the shuka has sparked quite a controversy, with some people opining that L.V. stole the shuka for its collection, and others wondering if Africa is on the verge of losing its cultural and artistic heritage and symbols.  (Read an article about the debate over patenting to prevent Africa from losing its culture and identity here.)  Is it ethical that Louis Vuitton will make money from the collection, but the Maasai people will not profit from it at all?  How is it possible to distinguish between artistic inspiration and stealing the symbols and traditional patterns of another culture?  Is Vuitton’s Menswear Spring-Summer 2012 collection fostering globalization and cultural awareness or instigating hostility?  What do you think about this controversial couture?