DUBAI: French luxury label Louis Vuitton is facing a backlash on social media after releasing a scarf inspired by the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh.
The brand is offering a blue checkered wrap-up decorated with Louis Vuitton’s monogram design and the distinctive cultural pattern.
However, social media users have been sharing posts that voice concerns about the high price of the scarf, which sells for $705, and the change of color from traditional black and white to blue and white — the colors of the Israeli flag.
Khaled Beydoun, an author and lawyer, said that the brand’s design is “disrespectful and insensitive on myriad levels.”
He wrote: “Give me the original article — and the history, meaning and weight stitched into its very fabric — any day over this vapid and desolate mutation, priced at an amount that can feed a family in Gaza for weeks.”
Beydoun’s post, which has been reshared by social media influencers in the region, including UAE-based blogger Shahd Al-Jumaily, added: “The blue-and-white colors are either tone deaf or an insidious form of passive political commentary.”
Meanwhile, Diet Prada wrote: “So LVMH’s stance on politics is ‘neutral,’ but they’re still making a $705 logo-emblazoned keffiyeh, which is a traditional Arab headdress that has become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.”
Influencers, including Palestinian-Puerto Rican model Maria Alia and Florida-based Noor Elkhaldi, shared Diet Prada’s post targeting the French brand.
Last month, hundreds of thousands of people around the world took to the streets to protest at Israeli airstrikes on Palestinians living in Gaza.
Demonstrations took place across the Middle East, Europe, Canada, Australia and the US, with thousands of protesters carrying pro-Palestine signs.
Some celebrities and influencers, including part-Palestinian model Bella Hadid, decided to join the demonstrations.
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