Romania accuses Louis Vuitton of ‘stealing’ its beloved shirts

The villagers of Vaideeni, in the foothills of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, are furious that French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has “stolen” the design of their traditional shirts.

Maria Gioanca, 69, one of two dozen women in the village who still sew the black-and-white garment by hand, told AFP she “won’t let it be stolen” to be made into pretty beachwear.

Calls for luxury brands to acknowledge their design inspirations have grown in recent years as the fashion industry has faced accusations of cultural appropriation and exploiting the heritage of minority groups.

In Romania, radical groups Romanian shirt (Romanian women’s blouses) has been asking brands to come clean since 2017 and indicate the country of origin when their garments resemble or are inspired by Romanian folk costumes.

Their efforts to promote the traditional “ie” shirt — which famously inspired fashion designers such as Yves Saint-Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier and Kenzo — have produced mixed results with their complaints.

‘Violation of cultural rights’

At Vaideeni, many of the seamstresses had never heard of Louis Vuitton, but when they saw photos of a white linen shirt from the French brand’s new “LV by the Pool” collection embroidered with black motifs, they immediately noticed its similarities to their traditional “ie” shirts.

“Why are you laughing at our stuff?” 76-year-old Ioana Staniloiu scoffed at a shirt by celebrity designer Nicolas Ghesquiere that was advertised on Louis Vuitton’s website as “flowing” and having a “fresh, bohemian feel.”

“Compared to our shirts, it’s so ugly,” she said.

Accusing the French company of “violating the cultural rights of the community”, Romanian shirt Founder Andreea Tanasescu said people were offended that shirts, traditionally worn for special occasions, were being used as beachwear.

Children take part in a traditional Romanian shirt parade in the village of Vaideni.

“You have to be very careful… You’d better go and talk to the community, spend some time there,” the 49-year-old former casting director told AFP, adding that fashion could help “preserve and promote cultural heritage” if there was communication.

Romania’s culture minister asked the company last month to recognise the cultural heritage.

Louis Vuitton declined to comment when contacted by AFP but confirmed media reports that it had apologised to Romania and stopped selling the shirt.

The shirt is reportedly no longer available on the brand’s website and the 20 unsold shirts have been put on hold.

Fear of the future

in the past, Romanian shirt They persuaded American designer Tory Burch to change the description of a coat to say it was inspired by Romania. In a similar case, they received no response from Dior.

Romanian traditional clothing and textiles have “an extraordinary, special beauty,” said textile expert Florica Zaharia, pointing to the shirt’s “Discretion and elegance”.

“There is a kind of beauty that we cannot ignore,” said Zaharia, who opened Romania’s first textile museum in 2018 after working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for nearly 30 years.

But critics say the controversies ultimately do little to help the community save their dying craft.

A woman arranges traditional Romanian shirts at an exhibition of traditional Romanian shirts in the village of Vaideni.

Horatiu Ilea, director of Romania’s Peasant Museum, said it was like “a public muckraking”, adding that “the only thing that can help” is for young people to learn a craft.

Although the Romanian shirt-making technique was listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022, the technique is not patented, and even the same group of seamstresses have different production styles.

In Vaideeni, some women have recently started learning the craft they learned from their elders, but it is not easy.

A shirt, which costs about 300 to 400 euros ($320 to $430), takes at least a month to sew and does not sell well.

“I’m a little scared (about the future), but we won’t give up,” said Staniloiu, whose daughter and four granddaughters have left the village to find work elsewhere.