How Climate Activist Marie Cohuet Managed To Gatecrash Louis Vuitton Show At Paris Fashion Week

26-year-old Marie Cohuet gatecrashed the Louis Vuitton event on October 5 at the Louvre art museum in Paris, holding a banner that read: 'Overconsumption = Extinction'

Environment activist Marie Cohuet | AFP

New Delhi: On October 5, an environment activist created a flutter in the France capital and the world when she walked the ramp during the Louis Vuitton show at the Louvre art museum, which was the final event of Paris Fashion Week.

Marie Cohuet catwalked the entire length of the ramp, carrying a white banner with the words “Overconsumption = Extinction” written in bold block letters.

Before security guards hustled her away, Cohuet had posed for a few seconds in front of the cameras.

A protestor got into the line-up at #LouisVuitton with a message for — well, everyone. Later, security guards tackled her and carried her off. pic.twitter.com/gpCy3XrVRb

— Vanessa Friedman (@VVFriedman) October 5, 2021

The 26-year-old member of the Amis de la Terre (Friends of the Earth) group has now shared how she planned and managed to gatecrash the show to protest against the environmental damage that is said to be caused by the fashion industry to a great extent. 

Cohuet told Reuters that she hid in a lavatory inside the Louvre museum for over two hours as she plotted her gatecrashing. 

She said she masked up and somehow managed to reach near the show's entrance, and joined the other models when she found the staff distracted by the arrival of actress Catherine Deneuve.

Cohuet told Reuters that she pretended to be from the organising team and walked in with her “heart in her stomach”, before unfurling the banner.

"We marched to demand that fashion realize that the world is burning,” she had posted on Twitter later that evening.

Vous oubliez les activistes climat @SarahLouaguef
Nous avons défilé pour demander que la mode réalise que le monde brûle 💀
👇https://t.co/Qwsexg6nuP via @sarahlouaguef

— Marie Cohuet (@mariecohuet) October 5, 2021

She said it was her stand against the fashion industry that “fell short on its promises to act against climate change”. Cohuet said LVMH had pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but excluded its sub-contractors from its calculations.

LVMH, however, told Reuters that its 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than half, which was announced in April, included those of subcontractors.

Cohuet said people should avoid frivolous clothing purchases and air travel but it’s not possible for an individual to make much impact. “Real change must come from governments and leaders of big business,” Reuters quoted her as saying.

She said she did not have much hope for meaningful progress at the United Nations COP26 climate change conference summit to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, this month.