A giant Louis Vuitton suitcase that housed an exhibition in Moscow’s historic Red Square caused such an outrage that the famous Paris design house has been forced to pull the building even before its opening.
The 100-foot long, 30-foot tall installation arrived this week and was going to be the home of Louis Vuitton’s touring “Soul of Travel” exhibition, which is part of a collaboration with GUM to celebrate the store’s 120th anniversary, reports The LA Times. But both citizens and government officials protested the exhibit, which would have opened on Dec. 3 and run through Jan. 19.
While there are plenty of historical landmarks in Red Square, including Lenin’s tomb, some may have been worried that the exhibit would take up valuable space during New Year’s Eve celebrations, when thousands pack into Red Square.
According to RIA Novosti, lawmakers considered it an “obscenity” that could not be on the site of a revered Russian landmark.
“I am ashamed of our country for putting a suitcase on its main square, this sacred area that should be protected by the state,” Valery Rashkin, a Communist member of the State Duma, said, reports Reuters. He added that it was an “eyesore.”
Tickets for the exhibit cost around $6 and the plan was for proceeds to go to model Natalia Vodianova’s children’s charity Naked Heart Foundation. Now, the band and foundation will have to find a new site for the exhibit.
image: Wikimedia Commons
