A climate change protestor crashed Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer ’22 in Paris by walking down the runway with a banner reading “overconsumption = extinction.”
The event, which took place on Tuesday (5 October) saw a woman representing Amis de la Terre France, an association for the protection of people and the environment, aiming to highlight the wasteful side of the fashion industry.
After walking a few steps on the runway in a corridor of the Louvre, the protestor was tackled by a security guard before being led away.
“La planète brûle mais la mode regarde ailleurs,” wrote Extinction Rebellion France in an Instagram post. The phrase translates to: “The planet is burning, but fashion looks elsewhere.”
Amis de la Terre France’s spokesperson Alma Dufour additionally told Reuters: “LVMH is the world leader of luxury and has a responsibility when it comes to trends that push the textile industry to constantly renew collection faster and produce more.”
The Louis Vuitton collection saw dramatic silhouettes consisting of oversized shoulders and Edwardian-era bustle skirts.
It’s not the first time a catwalk show has been interrupted by an intruder.
In 2019, environmental activists Extinction Rebellion announced their plea to the British Fashion Council (BFC): scrap London Fashion Week in favour of a summit to address the climate crisis attended by industry professionals.
Given the ecological consequences of fast fashion and the impact London Fashion Week has on consumption, the organisation said a boycott is the only way forward to help save our planet.
In 2019, supermodel Gigi Hadid confronted a woman named Marie S’Infiltre, real name Marie Benoliel, who caused a stir by crashing Chanel’s show at Paris Fashion Week.
Gigi Hadid approaches prankster Marie Benoliel aka Marie S’Infiltre and escorts her off the catwalkduring the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week.
(Photo by David Fisher/REX)
The finale of the show, which showcased creative director Virginie Viard’s first ready-to-wear collection, was disrupted when comedian Marie S’Infiltre climbed onto the runway, dressed in a Chanel-style houndstooth-patterned outfit and a black hat.
Benoliel has produced skits on a variety of topics from the French far-right to the Yellow Vests and the #MeToo movement. One of her videos on the latter topic went viral in November 2017 and has been watched more than 348,000 times.
