Romanian Ministry of Culture to request Louis Vuitton to acknowledge Sibiu traditional blouse model inspiration
Romania’s Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan, recently announced that she will request the Louis Vuitton company to acknowledge basing its new collection on the traditional blouse model with ribbons specific to the Sibiu area in Romania.
The announcement was made following the campaign initiated by the La Blouse Roumaine community, "Give Credit." According to La Blouse Roumaine, Louis Vuitton used the blouse model from the Mărginimea Sibiului area in its new 2024 collection without mentioning the origin and without the consent of the cultural heritage custodians.
"Naturally, we will request that Louis Vuitton recognize the patrimonial and cultural value of the traditional blouse model with ribbons, specific to the Sibiu area. Authentic folk creations have maintained their value over time, proof being that the Romanian blouse has been and remains a source of inspiration for painters, designers, and luxury product manufacturers like Louis Vuitton. This situation should be transformed into an opportunity, in the sense of international recognition of the inestimable value of Romanian tradition," Raluca Turcan wrote on Facebook.
Through the "Give Credit" campaign, it is requested that the brand "remove the pieces from the collection until agreement is obtained from the communities, with credit given to the origin."
Following the Minister of Culture's announcement, Paula Popoiu, the director of the Village Museum, emphasized in a message that this initiative could regulate copying and source acknowledgment.
"You can't stop major fashion houses from being inspired. [...] If we make the traditional blouse a European brand, the source will be obligatorily mentioned even for Vuitton. Because if we want to keep it hidden in chests or museum collections, I don't see how it would benefit us,” wrote Paula Popoiu, cited by News.ro.
The director of the Village Museum also said that some blouses copied by Chinese manufacturers, made from poor materials, are even found in some museum shops. “A debate that results in legislative regulations would be welcome," wrote Paula Popoiu.
(Photo source: La blouse roumaine on Facebook)
