Daily Times

Dior said on Friday it was bringing forward its Paris Fashion Week show after its flagship shop was looted during “yellow vests” protests. The luxury brand’s men’s spring/summer show was to have been taken place a week before Saturday when more anti-government protests are likely in the French capital.

Dior refused to say if it was bringing the January 19 show forward a day to avoid trouble.

However, demonstrators smashed up its Champs Elysees boutique on November 26 and stole goods and caused damage reportedly to the tune of €1 million.

Others scrawled graffiti declaring, “Screw the rich and immigrants”.

Slogans including “The people want Dior” were plastered on the building after earlier protests.

Luxury boutiques have become a frequent target of the protests, which began in November as a revolt against a rise in fuel prices but which have since morphed into an expression of general discontent.

Chanel, which protected the windows of its shops with fashionably black plywood cladding, has also become a magnet for graffiti, sprayed with slogans such as “Yellow is the new black” and “A perfume of victory”.

The United States designer Thom Browne also moved his Saturday show to earlier in the day, while other brands have so far not said whether they will be affected.

Supermodel Bella Hadid set social media alight on Wednesday by appearing at a Louis Vuitton dinner during New York fashion week in a luminous yellow vest designed by the creator of its men’s line, Virgil Abloh.

The American came up with the design as a part of his first show for the label earlier this year, but the model’s appearance in it still set tongues wagging.

Many Paris fashion shows traditionally take place near the Champs Elysees, which has been the focus for the “yellow vests” weekly Saturday demonstrations, which often end in violence.

Police have tried to contain protesters by closing metro stations and redirecting traffic from the area.

Paris men’s fashion week begins on Tuesday and is followed by the haute couture shows, which will run until January 24.

Published in Daily Times, January 13^th 2019.