The villagers of Vadeni, located in the foothills of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, are angry at French luxury brand Louis Vuitton for “stealing” the design of their traditional blouse.
Maria Gioanca, 69, one of two dozen women who still hand-sew the black and white garment in the village, told AFP she “would not allow the dress to be stolen” for fancy beach wear.
In recent years there has been a growing call for luxury brands to acknowledge the inspiration behind their designs, as the fashion industry is accused of cultural appropriation and exploiting the heritage of minority groups.
In Romania, activist group La Blouse Roumâne (The Romanian Blouse) has been asking brands since 2017 to clearly state and give “credit” to the place of origin when their clothing resembles or is inspired by Romanian folk costumes.
Dedicated to promoting the traditional “eye” blouse – known to have inspired fashion designers such as Yves Saint-Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier and Kenzo – their complaints have produced mixed results.
‘Violation of cultural rights’
At Vaudeney, many of the seamstresses hadn’t heard of Louis Vuitton, but when they saw a photo of a white linen blouse with black embroidery for the French brand’s new “L.V. by the Pool” collection, they immediately recognized its similarity to their traditional “I.E.” blouse.
“Why are our stuff being made fun of?” Ioana Staniloiu, 76, mocked the blouse, created by star designer Nicolas Ghesquiere, which was described on the Louis Vuitton website as “breezy” and having a “fresh, bohemian look”.
“It’s ugly on the front of our blouses,” she said.
Accusing the French company of “violating the cultural rights of communities”, La Blouse Roumene founder Andreea Tanasescu said people were offended to see a blouse traditionally worn for special occasions being used as beach wear.
“You have to be very careful… it’s better to go and talk to the community, spend time there,” the 49-year-old former casting director told AFP, adding that fashion could help “preserve and promote cultural heritage” if there was exchange.
Romania’s culture minister last month urged the company to recognise the heritage.
Louis Vuitton declined to comment when contacted by AFP, but confirmed media reports that it had apologised to Romania and stopped selling the blouse.
According to reports, it no longer appears on the brand’s website, and 20 such blouses have been set aside that have not yet been sold.
‘Fear’ about the future
In the past, La Blouse Roumain persuaded the American designer Tory Burch to change the details of a coat, attributing Romanian inspiration. In a similar case they received no response from Dior.
According to textile expert Florica Zaharia, Romanian traditional dresses and textiles have “an extraordinary, special aesthetic”, pointing to the “discretion and elegance” of the blouse.
“There’s a beauty there that we can’t ignore,” said Zaharia, who opened Romania’s first textile museum in 2018 after working for nearly 30 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
But critics say these controversies do nothing to help communities save their vanishing crafts.
Horatiu Ilia, curator of the Romanian Peasant Museum, said it was like “displaying dirty laundry in public”, adding that the “only thing” that could help was for young people to learn the craft.
Although the making of the Romanian blouse was added to UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022, there are no patents on it, and there are different styles even among the same group of sewists.
Some women in Vaideni have recently started practising the craft they learnt from their elders, but it is not at all easy.
A blouse takes at least a month to sew and costs 300 to 400 euros ($320-430), and it does not sell out that quickly.
“I’m a bit scared (about the future), but we won’t give up,” said Staniloiu, whose daughter and four granddaughters have left the village to look for work elsewhere.
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