Luxury fashion brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci have ceased trading in Russia after Vogue Ukraine called on the fashion industry to place embargoes on exporting their goods to Russia. LVMH, the owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, has announced that it would close all its 124 Russian stores, and (on 2nd March), shared a statement that it would donate €5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Meanwhile, French company Kering, the owner of such brands as Gucci and Balenciaga said that it would make a ‘significant donation’ to the United Nations Refugees Agency (UNHCR) to help Ukrainian refugees. Additionally, Gucci has made its own individual donation of $500,000 to UNHCR, and Balenciaga has donated an undisclosed sum to the World Food Programme.
Concurrently, high street brands have also acted against Russia. On 2nd March ASOS halted its operations in Ukraine as well as Russia and, on the following day, H&M Group suspended sales in Russia amid the ongoing conflict. Inditex, Zara’s parent company, released a statement on 5th March, which said, “In the current circumstances Inditex cannot guarantee the continuity of the operations and commercial conditions in the Russian Federation and temporarily suspends its activity.” Inditex will, consequently, close its 502 stores in Russia and cease its online sales in the country.
Despite its continuing support, the fashion industry has faced backlash for hosting its exclusive and high-profile fashion week events throughout Europe as it makes the world’s elite seem out of touch with reality. Much of the initial response also took place online, with many brands simply posting on Instagram to raise awareness for the issue and has resulted in many unimpressed social media users urging for more to be done. It does however seem as though the industry is listening, as Russia is increasingly facing punishments.