In a dig that went beyond a fashion statement, the creative director of Louis Vuitton slammed President Trump as “a joke” following the commander in chief’s visit to the French brand’s new workshop in Alvarado, Texas, last week.
Designer Nicolas Ghesquière blasted Trump in a recent Instagram post after the president appeared at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the luxury retailer’s new leather workshop in Johnson County on Thursday.
“Standing against any political action. I am a fashion designer refusing this association,” Ghesquière wrote, adding the hashtags #Trumpisajoke and #Homophobia, and sharing an image of the album cover of Evelyn Thomas’ 1984 tune “High Energy.”
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President Trump tours the Louis Vuitton Workshop Rochambeau in Alvarado, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The fashion designer appears to have since disabled comments on the Instagram post.
Nicolas Ghesquière walks the runway during the Louis Vuitton Womenswear Spring/Summer 2020 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 1, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Peter White/Getty Images)
A spokesperson for LVMH, Louis Vuitton’s parent company, was not immediately available to comment. The fashion house has not yet publically commented on Ghesquière’s statement.
Trump met with LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, Arnault’s son Alexandre, and Louis Vuitton chairman and CEO Michael Burke, accompanied by White House senior advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner on Oct. 17, WWD reported.
The opening of the Alvarado leather workshop is part of LVMH’s pledge to create 1,000 jobs in the area as part of the president’s Pledge to America’s Workers program.
The U.S. is said to be the most valuable market in the world for the luxury goods conglomerate, which WWD describes as the industry’s “most powerful luxury fashion titan.” American spending marks 25 percent of the company’s total business, at over $10 billion a year.
President Donald Trump tours the Louis Vuitton Workshop Rochambeau in Alvarado, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, with Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH, third from right, Alexandre Arnault, second from right and Ivanka Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Arnault emphasized that it was an “honor” to have Trump visit the Vuitton workshop, while Burke echoed that the factory’s opening was “about jobs, not a political statement,” according to the outlet.
President Donald Trump participates in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Louis Vuitton Workshop Rochambeau in Alvarado, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, with from left Alexandre Arnault, Michael Burke, Bernard Arnault and Ivanka Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“We are very honored to have the president of the United States. I’m not here to judge any types of policies,” Arnault said at the event, according to WWD, acknowledging that he and Trump have known each other since the 1980s.
“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,” he added.
“It’s about jobs, it’s not a political statement,” Burke agreed. “This is about engaging with the president of the United States overriding economic goal of bringing jobs back to the United States.”
A White House aide carries Louis Vuitton bags to a helicopter prior to President Trump and first lady Melania Trump’s departure from the White House on Sept. 2, 2017.
(Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)
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First lady Melania Trump has been known to sport styles from LVMH’s extensive fashion portfolio, WWD reports, such as her personalized Vuitton luggage that has been photographed being carried onto Air Force One.
