[theqoo] THE LOUIS VUITTON RUNWAY SCANDAL THAT IS BOILING IN PARIS NOWADAYS

June 27, 2026

At a recent fashion show in Paris, Louis Vuitton created a stage featuring an artificial waterfall.

Many people commented on how absolutely beautiful it was.

An 8-meter-high wave installation was set up against a backdrop of a sand-covered runway, serving as the setting for singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams’ Spring/Summer 2027 fashion show.

However, it ended up becoming a hot topic for a different reason.

The problem is… France is currently suffering from a severe heatwave.

With record-breaking temperatures exceeding 40°C across the country, many regions have:

-issued red alerts, and

-imposed water usage restrictions.

People are asking how a luxury brand was allowed to set up a massive artificial wave, a sandy beach, and cooling mist systems under these circumstances.

Where on earth did the water for that Louis Vuitton fashion show’s artificial waterfall come from?

ㄴ Paris municipal tap water!!! Obviously

On top of that, public sentiment has been unsettled by a series of tragedies since mid-June, in which at least 40 people, mostly young people, drowned while trying to cool off in rivers and lakes.

(Police stopping kids from jumping into the water to cool off)

Backlash erupted after news broke that a makeshift pool, built by residents in a working-class neighborhood who had pooled their money so children could cool off, was dismantled with the deployment of six police trucks.

🚨🇫🇷 | Deux jours après une première intervention policière pour faire démonter une piscine installée en pleine rue, les adolescents ont récidivé au même endroit. Cette fois, la piscine avait été déplacée sur la pelouse, mais cela n’a pas empêché une nouvelle intervention de… https://t.co/WIn5BmMRSh pic.twitter.com/WXHUuRhUPl

— Cpasdeslol (@cpasdeslol_X) June 25, 2026

Seeing how much the children were struggling amidst a record-breaking heatwave, local youths pooled 140 euros of their own money to set up a portable, easy-to-assemble pool in the open space in front of their apartment complex; however, six police vehicles and fifteen officers were deployed to forcibly dismantle it…

True to the spirit of a revolutionary nation, there were furious reactions pointing out that “a fake beach, an 8-meter-tall artificial waterfall, and artificial waves were brazenly installed at the Louis Vuitton show venue where capitalists and elites gather,” and declaring, “This is exactly why capitalism must be overthrown.”

At a time when the majority of citizens are suffering from extreme heatwaves and concerns over water shortages, the extravagant display of water resources for the benefit of a few is an “extremely rude and inappropriate (indecent) visual shock.”

Once the backlash began, Louis Vuitton tried to smooth things over by saying:

“Hey, the water is just Paris municipal tap water, you know? It’s a system where we return it instead of wasting it.”

“And we’ll donate the sand, you guys can recycle and use it…”

(But… how exactly do you recover the water that was sprayed out as artificial mist…?)

Experts say they are concerned about how starkly the gap will widen between the “luxuries enjoyed by the wealthy” and the “reality of climate disasters experienced by ordinary people” amidst the climate crisis.