Launching on October 30 worldwide, it comes featuring golden studs while the shield is trimmed featuring Louis Vuitton’s monogram print. Described by the company as “an eye-catching headpiece, both stylish and protective”, the face shield can also double up as a cap.
Other features include a photochromatic visor which changes color from clear to dark in sunlight. The expensive piece of personal protective equipment will be launching as part of the French brand’s 2021 Cruise Collection.
In March, LVMH, the owner of Louis Vuitton as well as Christian Dior, Givenchy said it was helping to make hand sanitizer at its perfume factories in order to combat the shortage of the product in France. In April, the Louis Vuitton factories in the U.S. were opened to produce non-surgical cloth face masks.
It is not the first fashion designer to launch luxury items to protect people during the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, Burberry launched its own designer reusable face covering which sold for £90 ($115).
The mask features the brand’s check design and is said to feature particle filtration efficiency (PFE) and also comes with antimicrobial technology that protects the product from microbes and germs.
The mask’s outer and inner linings are made out of 100 percent cotton and it comes complete with its own travel pouch. Burberry said that 20 percent of each sale would go towards its Burberry Foundation Covid-19 Community Fund which aims to help vulnerable communities affected by the pandemic as well as health workers fighting on the front line.
The COVID-19 pandemic which has led to nationwide shutdowns across countries has meant that the retail and fashion sector has been particularly impacted with clothing sales falling 34 percent in March. Imran Ahmed, the founder and CEO of The Business of Fashion, told the BBC that the pandemic had led to a real existential crisis for the fashion industry.
He said: “This is an industry which is still almost entirely dependent on physical retail. More than 80 percent of transactions in the fashion industry still happen in physical stores. Added to that, many consumers simply aren’t interested in buying clothes right now. There’s so much focus on purchasing essential items to survive during the lockdown and I think everyone’s minds have naturally been focused on that. So fashion just becomes an after-thought or no thought at all in that kind of context.”
Despite sales being low, some brands have suspended advertising, while others have turned to social media influencers to promote products.
