Louis Vuitton's Giant Trunk in Moscow To Be Dismantled After Uproar [SEE PHOTO]
Louis Vuitton is set to dismantle the giant suitcase they installed at the Red Square in Moscow following an order from the presidential administration for its removal.
On Wednesday Russia's presidential administration issued such order after a massive outcry over the installation put up near Vladimir Lenin's mausoleum.
"The installation of this pavilion was not agreed with the administration," a Kremlin spokesperson said.
But later that day, Pres. Vladimir Putin's spokesman clarified that a written order on the same have not been issued but the Kremlin is in favor of the removal due to issues in proportion.
That same day, Moscow's GUM Department Store says it has asked the French fashion brand to dismantle the trunk due to mixed reaction from the Russian public.
"Given the reaction from the public and the fact that the pavilion exceeded the agreed upon and permissible dimensions, we informed Louis Vuitton that it needed to dismantled immediately," the GUM statement said.
The 30-foot (nine meter) tall and 112-foot (34 meter) long trunk was installed at the Red Square, overshadowing the mausoleum of Vladimir Lenin and blocks the tourists' view of the famed St. Basil's Cathedral from the said square. The same trunk features the signature logo of Louis Vuitton and the colors of the Russian flag. It also bears the initials P.W.O., as the trunk was modeled after 'a trunk which once belonged to Prince Wladimir Orloff.'
The giant trunk was installed to house the exhibit entitled 'The Soul of Travel' organized by GUM Department Store, and is done as 'a way for us to thank Russia for accompanying us for more than a century and a half,' according to Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Politicians and various groups have been lashing on the construction of the said installation ever since the workers put up the finishing touches of the installation where the exhibit will be conducted starting Dec. 2.
"This is a sacred place for the Russian state," said Sergei Obukhov, a member of the Communist Party Central Committee. "There are some symbols that cannot be trivialized or denigrated."
But at the Civic Chamber hearing Tuesday, Mikhail Kusnirovich of GUM Department Store said the government has been consulted and all the the required approvals have been acquired regarding the exhibit.
"The pavilion will work entirely in conjunction with charity, so there is no question of greed," he said, according to Interfax. "As for the use of public space on Red Square, we turned to the federal authorities for approval."