The foundation that cares for the work of the great American painter and engraver Joan Mitchell (1925-1992) publicly rebuked Louis Vuitton, on February 21, 2023, “ the illegal use of three works by the artist for the promotion of commercial goods “. The French house, in fact, took advantage of the exhibition” Monet-Mitchell to the Louis Vuitton Foundation for use as a backdrop for handbag ads, with Léa Seydoux as artistic muse.
Paintings by the artist Joan Mitchell, as a backdrop for Louis Vuitton advertisements
The French Baulist had asked to be able to use the works of art in handbag advertisements, which the Joan Mitchell foundation had explicitly refused on several occasions, as reported by the New York Times.
The fruitful and dangerous liaisons between fashion and art
The Joan Mitchell Foundation therefore believes that Louis Vuitton has infringed the artist’s copyright and is asking the luxury fashion brand to withdraw its marketing campaign within three days or face legal action. A cease and desist letter has also been sent to the Fondation Louis Vuitton accusing it of violating a licensing agreement for the exhibition. Monet-Mitchell which forbade any reproduction of works without consent. The publicity photos of the bags with Léa Seydoux in front of Joan Mitchell’s works clearly appear to have been taken as part of this exhibition running from 5 October 2022 to 27 February 2023.
That’s why Christa Blatchford, director of the Joan Mitchell Foundation, told the New York Times :
“All of this experience has made us realize that the separation we thought existed between the Louis Vuitton Foundation and the company did not exist. »
Neither the Louis Vuitton Foundation nor the brand of the same name declined to comment. One more incident for the dangerous links between fashion and art, the latter sometimes serving to increase the cultural capital of a maison to give credibility to the value of the products, sometimes tax loopholes for luxury groups who love to pass it off as generous patronage ) and fashion.
Front page photo credit: Louis Vuitton ad campaign.
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
