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Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic director of womenswear at Louis Vuitton, isn’t here for Donald Trump’s ties to the LVMH empire.
Over the weekend, Ghesquière made clear his displeasure with Trump’s appearance at the new Louis Vuitton factory, calling Trump “a joke” in a post on his personal Instagram account.
“Standing against any political action,” Ghesquière captioned the cover artwork of Evelyn Thomas 80s hit “High Energy.” “I am a fashion designer refusing this association #trumpisajoke #homophobia.”
Last week, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault unveiled a new Texas factory for LVMH’s eponymous brand alongside Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka. If you recall, it’s the event where Trump mispronounced the luxury brand’s name, calling it “Loooie Vooton.”
“We are very honored to have the president of the United States,” Arnault told WWD. “I’m not here to judge any types of policies, I’m here to work with my brand and we are going to, over five years, have 1,000 people working here and that’s what matters.”
Ghesquière’s bold political statement against Trump is hardly a surprise. Earlier this month, a music video of Scottish and openly-transgender producer Sophie’s “It’s Okay to Cry” opened Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2020 show. Ghesquière has also cast transgender models such as ELLE cover star Indya Moore and Teddy Quinlivan in Louis Vuitton campaigns. The Trump administration, for their part, has moved to erase legal protections for trans people and attempted to ban them from the military.
“Thank you for standing on the right side of history,” Quinlivan wrote under Ghesquière’s post. Indya Moore also chimed in, writing, “I was holding my breath. C’mon Nicolas!”
Nerisha Penrose