Louis Vuitton recently found itself embroiled in controversy after it emerged that a sweater marketed as inspired by Jamaica’s national flag used colors that did not match the flag’s palette.
The men’s Jamaican Stripe Jumper pullover, priced at $1,366, originally carried a product description that read, “With striped design inspired by Caribbean island’s national flag.”
Fashion journalist @pam_boy called out the misstep on Twitter, sharing a screenshot of the now-defunct product page and writing, “I cannot stress enough how important it is to embed diversity as a value and not a symbol within fashion companies.”
The brand initially substituted the word “flag” with “cultural heritage” before the item was removed from Louis Vuitton’s official site entirely. Visiting the web address now yields a “404 page not found” error.
Social media responses to the luxury label were swift and harsh, accusing it of appropriation and of monetizing Jamaican culture while bungling the specifics.
Some critics suggested that the Rastafarian flag appeared to have influenced the sweater, rather than Jamaica’s official flag. The Rastafari faith, rooted in Jamaica, is associated with a version of the Ethiopian flag that features the same three stripes but centers on the Lion of Judah.
Bob Marley’s daughter Cedella joined the online backlash with a pointed Instagram post reading, “Bob says that’s the Ethiopian flag @Louisvuitton,” accompanied by a photo of a dismayed Marley beneath an embarrassed-face emoji.
Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s creative director, has Ghanaian heritage through his parents, and the flag colors—green, gold and red—are associated with Ghana. Abloh has also collaborated on a sneaker project with Jamaican skateboarder Lucien Clarke.
Louis Vuitton later issued a statement to The Guardian expressing deep regret for the description error on its e-commerce site and noting that the sweater is from the Spring-Summer 2021 men’s collection, during which green, yellow and red—the colors of the Ethiopian flag and symbols of African independence—were used, including to honor the Ghanaian heritage of their menswear designer Virgil Abloh.
Other fashion brands have faced backlash for racially insensitive or culturally offensive items, such as H&M’s 2018 advertisement featuring a Black boy wearing a hoodie that read “Coolest Monkey In The Jungle.” H&M reportedly halted sales of the item in the United States. Gucci produced a turtleneck that resembled blackface, and Burberry apologized for promoting a hoodie with noose-like drawstrings.
