Louis Vuitton Face Shield: In-Your-Face Status Symbol Or New Essential Luxury Fashion Accessory?
Forbes | October 4, 2020
Since the pandemic broke out, luxury brands repurposed their factories to manufacture face masks and hospital gowns, as well as made financial donations. They offered customers their own branded face masks, like Burberry, Rag and Bone, Missoni and others.
Louis Vuitton, LVMH just announced it will introduce a logo branded luxury face shield as part of its 2021 Cruise collection on October 30, right in time for Halloween trick-or-treating, since it looks more scary than fashionable. With prominent LV logos, it is made with canvas-coated fabric. LV logo gold studs act as hinges to raise and lower the shield that automatically adjusts to changing light levels. It reportedly will sell for nearly $1,000.
Admitting that the Louis Vuitton face shield at first strikes you as in-your-face status symbolism, Dr. Martina Olbertova, CEO and founder of Meaning.Global sees deeper meaning in what Louis Vuitton is doing.
“At first glance, it might look tacky, but it just doesn’t make sense to us within the luxury narrative that we know,” she says. “Fast forward to 2050 and personal protection will become the normal thing. Carrying a face mask will be a necessity. However, there is a kind of insensitivity embedded into the fact that health shouldn’t be a luxury,” Olbertova reflects.
Louis Vuitton's face shield is a step in the right direction. The sudden boom of personal care products within luxury makes sense given the health and wellness trend it locks into.