By NICKY CHAMP
Luxury fashion house, Louis Vuitton is being accused of glorifying prostitution in a three-minute promotional video for their latest Autumn/Winter 2013/14 collection designed by Marc Jacobs.
Featuring models Cara Delevingne, Georgia Jagger and 16-year-old Lily McMenamy the video entitled ‘Ladies of the Night,’ depicts the women posing along the Rue du Pont Neuf in Paris, leaning in to cars to presumably solicit customers, wondering down dark alleys in minimal clothing, flashing cars and the most disturbing of all, appearing defeated, bedraggled and exhausted, somewhat resigned to their fate.
As you can imagine it hasn’t been well received.
A letter published in French left-wing newspaper Libération critised the video for promoting prostitution chic.
“What indecency, what ignorance, what indifference to play with the fantasy of chic pornography: the social condition of the immense majority of people who prostitute themselves is in no way enviable, and in no way happy,” it said.
“Do creators from the universe of luxury realise that they are promoting violence, pornography and sexual slavery?”
Dominique Attias, a lawyer who signed a letter, said Louis Vuitton had “portrayed women’s bodies as an object and prostitution as something that is playful and enjoyable”.
“This is very damaging because we are trying to fight the idea, to which some young women in France subscribe, that prostitution is banal, and just a way of getting money to buy some new clothes,” she said.
The Times reports a source close to Louis Vuitton (who have yet to comment on the video) never authorised its release even though the film ends with a ‘special thanks’ to Marc Jacobs.
The video was created for British fashion magazine, Love, which is edited by Katie Grand, a fashion journalist, and stylist who consults for Louis Vuitton.
Incidentally, the controversial video comes as Marc Jacobs announced his part as a porn baron in the movie Disconnect.
Does the video make you want to buy Louis Vuitton?
Top Comments
For all those commenters discussing so boldly discussing the 'realities of street work/the majority of sex workers' -
Do you know any street workers?
Have you ever heard the opinion of a street worker?
Do you actually want to hear their thoughts, or would you rather continue speaking on their behalf despite having no experience with any aspect of their reality?
You don't seem to think the so-called high end girls can speak on their behalf, but we have more in common with them than you - we have done sex work.
But they have their own voices and if you were actually interested in the reality of their situation, rather than saving them from the armchair of privilege and ignorance, you would have taken steps to hear them.
The Vixen Hour, on Joy FM on Monday nights at 11pm is hosted by a sex worker who has done street work. The co-hosts are sex workers from ALL walks.
Vixen, a Melbourne collective runs storytelling forums and workshops that feature sex workers, including the much stereo-typed street workers.
The Scarlett Alliance is a national body that runs conferences, forums, workshops... you can meet and hear the REAL opinions and stories of every kind of sex worker at these events.
If you actually want to...
Ooh, great parallels between modelling and the sex industry! I thought the street work context was a great way to showcase clothing designed to be sensual, alluring, (obviously) practical, and beautifully silhouetted in street light!
Also, if LV reflect as much thought in clothing design as they did in the social aspects of this little clip I might be tempted to take a rethink about their gear...works for me!