BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) 鈥 Romania鈥檚 minister of culture says she will ask French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton to acknowledge that a traditional Romanian blouse directly inspired items in one of its 2024 collections.
鈥淲e will request that Louis Vuitton recognize the heritage and cultural value of the traditional blouse model with ribbons,鈥 Raluca Turcan wrote on Facebook late Monday, adding that it鈥檚 an opportunity for international recognition of the 鈥渋nestimable value鈥 of Romanian tradition.
The blouse in question is known in Romanian as an 鈥淚E鈥 (pronounced 鈥淓-eh鈥), which typically has intricate embroidery and tassels and is widely recognized as a symbol of the country鈥檚 rich folk culture. In 2022, the garments with a specific style of embroidery were added to a UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.
Louis Vuitton did not immediately respond to questions sent by The Associated Press.
The allegedly inspired garments were in Nicolas Ghesquiere鈥檚 Resort 2024 collection for Louis Vuitton, where many items cost thousands of dollars (euros).
The campaign for Louis Vuitton to 鈥済ive credit鈥 to Romanian heritage was launched on Sunday by the online community La Blouse Roumaine, which has long urged fashion houses to credit collections that appropriate traditional clothing.
鈥淲e need to protect our intangible cultural heritage. It鈥檚 our cultural right to express our identity through these garments, through these traditional costumes,鈥 Andreea Diana Tanasescu, the founder of La Blouse Roumaine, told the AP. 鈥淭hey are part of Romanian history.鈥
The outcry is not the first of its kind in Romania. In 2017, U.S. designer Tory Burch , a traditional Romanian-style coat, after her brand angered thousands of Romanians for marketing it as a garment inspired by Africa. Burch said they had "missed a reference to a beautiful Romanian coat which inspired one of the pieces.鈥
