Francesca Albanese is modelling for a magazine. However, she is wearing brands that pro-Palestinian supporters are calling for a boycott of.

Francesca Albanese graces the cover of the latest issue of Love Magazine, a publication dedicated to the world of fashion and lifestyle. In the photo spread dedicated to her inside the magazine – which was shared on social media yesterday – the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories is pictured against a white backdrop or with her feet sinking into the water’s edge. In both cases, Albanese – just like any other model – is wearing designer clothes, styled by a team of creative directors and styling assistants. It is regrettable, however, that two of the brands the UN Special Rapporteur is wearing are among those that pro-Palestinian activists are calling for a boycott of, as they are linked to Israel.

Loro Piana and Celine, tagged by the magazine in the introductory post for the new issue alongside the photo in which Albanese poses wearing their garments, are in fact owned by the French multinational LVMH, one of the world’s leading luxury groups. Both, however, have come under scrutiny from Boycat, a website that allows over 2 million users to scan or search for brands to determine whether they have any links to activities that ‘support the Israeli occupation, apartheid or violate the rights of Palestinians’. The platform works directly with the BDS movement (which stands for ‘Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions’), which has been promoting boycotts and actions against Israel since 2005. Although the official BDS list does not mention LVMH amongst the major brands with the strongest links to Israel (and therefore to be boycotted), on Boycat both Loro Piana and Celine are flagged for “ethical issues” stemming from the fact that the group’s chief executive, Bernard Arnault, and the US billionaire Howard Schultz invested in the Israeli cyber-security firm Wiz in 2021, participating in a $120 million funding round and raising Wiz’s valuation to $1.7 billion. That is why, in the case of Loro Piana, Boycat recommends alternative and ‘ethical’ brands to buy.

 Another brand monitoring platform, Gaza.nu, is calling for a boycott of the two brands because their owner invests in Israel. However, a third website adopts a more confrontational stance. In 2022, LVMH Luxury Ventures (the private-equity arm of the French conglomerate) invested in the Israeli lab-grown diamond company Lusix, participating alongside other firms in a $90 million funding round. “These financial ties link the group’s leadership to the Israeli economy against the backdrop of an ongoing military occupation, characterised by documented human rights violations,” states The Boycott Directory, another online register specialising in companies that “profit from violence, exploitation and dispossession”, and which, in addition to “military complicity” with Israel, accuses LVMH of environmental damage, human rights abuses and animal rights violations. “When considering ethical luxury brands, it is important to find out about the company’s supply chain, its labour practices and any initiatives supporting marginalised communities, including those in Palestine,” the website states. 

Despite the accusations and calls for a boycott, the two brands ended up being worn by Albanese, the quintessential champion of Gaza’s rights. She is a public figure whom both Loro Piana and Celine were probably delighted to dress, perhaps also to project an image of themselves as being closer to the Palestinian cause.