Luxury fashion is no stranger to controversy. Brands like Gucci, Prada and Burberry have all found themselves apologizing for culturally-inappropriate controversies that could have been avoided if they had a few more Black folks in the room making decisions. This time, it’s Louis Vuitton in the hot seat.
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The luxury brand is getting plenty of heat for using Paris Fashion Week to put out an almost carbon copy of a bag that has an incredibly dark history on the continent of Africa. Many online are pointing out the uncanny resemblance between LV’s red and white woven bag and the Ghana Must Go bag, a name the bag was given in 1983, when the Nigerian government ordered undocumented migrant workers primarily from Ghana, Chad, and Cameroon to leave the country with little warning.
According to the Nigerian government, the decision was necessary for national security and economic stability. With little time to pack, the migrants used the plastic foldable totes to transport their personal belongings. The only difference – the Ghana Must Go bag can be purchased for less than $10, while the French designer’s version is being sold for a whopping $3,000.
Folks online are furious that Louis Vuitton would try to make a profit from something that brings so many Black people so much pain.
“You know what’s wild? Luxury keeps stealing from struggle then selling it back to us as style,” said Creative Jam Sessions on TikTok. “Louis Vuitton hasn’t said a word, no tribute, no acknowledgement, no investment in the communities they profited from. Just another day in the lala land that we know as luxury, where appropriation is innovation and accountability is optional.”
Others online feel that by turning the bag into a luxury item, Louis Vuitton is playing in the faces of people who depended on these bags for their very survival.
“With a story like this being the foundation for the bag, it begs the question, ‘Does this need to be reclaimed by luxury?’” @yacobknowsbest asked on TikTok. “I believe the decision to make it luxury and turn it leather is actually alienating its main customer and who it’s really for.”
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