Moscow begins tearing down LV eyesore
Print Edition
Workers yesterday began to dismantle a giant Louis Vuitton trunk that triggered an outcry after it was erected on Moscow’s iconic Red Square.
The brown suitcase-shaped pavilion measuring 9 meters in height by 30 meters in length and covered in the brand’s signature golden “LV” stencilling was put up as a publicity stunt nearly two weeks ago.
But many tourists and ordinary Russians complained it was blocking views of most landmark sites, the Communist Party was outraged by its proximity to Lenin’s tomb, and preservationists stressed Red Square is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Following days of furious media commentary and after the Kremlin, which has official jurisdiction of the square, said it had not granted permission for the structure, it was ordered dismantled.
Dozens of workers and six cranes surrounded the trunk yesterday to take it apart.
The 19th century upmarket GUM department store, which faces Red Square across from the Kremlin, had envisioned the trunk as one of the elements of its 120th anniversary celebrations. On Wednesday, it disowned the exhibit, saying it was too big.
The controversy appeared to take the brand by surprise, with Louis Vuitton Director Michael Burke telling the Kommersant daily he “absolutely does not understand what has happened in Moscow in the last two days.”
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