An eight-metre wave in a drought: Paris is picking apart the Louis Vuitton show

LVMH said no water was wasted in the giant artificial waterfall its flagship Louis Vuitton brand built to open Paris Fashion Week. The statement was needed because the French capital was sweltering through a record-breaking heatwave that had made water use a sensitive issue.

The eight-metre-high wave, set against a sand-covered runway, formed the backdrop to Pharrell Williams’ 2027 spring-summer show. The structure was installed outside the Cité Universitaire, a sprawling 20th-century residential complex in southern Paris that houses 12,000 students a year, according to its website.

With temperatures climbing above 40°C across much of France, images of the installation quickly drew scrutiny from residents and local politicians, rekindling debate over how fashion brands use the city and its landmarks for commercial purposes.

“The water used to create the wave comes entirely from Paris’ water supply, which was pumped to the site and then entirely redirected back into Paris’ sewer system via a closed-loop system,” an LVMH spokesperson said. She added the sand would be reused in the Cité Universitaire’s beach-volleyball courts and by a recycling partner, and that the event had been adapted to comply with heatwave regulations. The campus’s communications director Jérôme Duplan also confirmed the closed-loop system.

Proponents of Fashion Week say staging runway shows in public buildings enhances Paris’ image as the world’s fashion capital, but some of the industry’s ambitious projects have met resistance from locals. French political figures accused Williams’ 2023 debut show, which sealed off Paris’ oldest bridge near the Louvre and Notre Dame, of appropriating public space.

“I understand the public’s reaction to poorly explained privatisations, with restrictions on access and, in the midst of a heatwave, a display that sends a very unfortunate message,” said Melody Tonolli, the Paris deputy mayor responsible for student living conditions.

LVMH said the six-week installation had been agreed in consultation with its host. Duplan said Louis Vuitton’s sponsorship had helped fund the structure, at a campus facing financial pressure as public funding declines and costs rise.

Some residents, however, said they had been treated unfairly: despite paying rent they could not use some facilities and had to adjust daily routines. The show, they said, underscored a stark gap between extreme wealth and their own living conditions. “When you see where we live and how we live and what Louis Vuitton has just made, it is a complete paradox,” said student Emma Keller.