Few crotches have gained so much attention as that of K-Pop star Lisa as she walked the blue carpet at the Met Gala Monday, parading in underwear embroidered with what appeared to be the face of Rosa Parks.
Lisa, full name Lisa Manobal, who also starred in White Lotus, took some heat online for the odd apparent juxtaposition of the pivotal civil rights figure and her privates.
Now the designer behind the look has stepped forward, with his company offering a defense: Everyone who thought they saw Rosa Parks was wrong.
Louise Vuitton said that the look was styled by Pharrell Williams, its men’s creative director, using a print by co-designer Henry Taylor’s life. And, it said, the faces did not include the civil rights icon, simply one of Taylor’s neighbors.
Met Gala co-chair Williams and his fellow Black creative teamed up to try and nail the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” theme, using rapper Lisa—who played Mook on The White Lotus—as a muse.
The company’s position that a civil rights icon had not been disrespected was detailed in a behind-the-scenes video shows the Happy singer breaking down the outfit, flanked by the 28-year-old musician.
“You’re wearing art,” he tells her, before turning to the camera and saying the fit was inspired by this year’s Met Gala theme.
“The idea that we love this color black, the world loves this color black,” he continued.
“They love black clothes, they loves black shoes, they like black dresses, they like black glasses, they like black cars, black planes...even Blackpink!”
Pharrell went on: “Here’s the moment where we highlight the taste level and the tastebuds of Black people.”
“I feel so honored,” Lisa, who was born and raised in Thailand, said.
Williams and Taylor first collaborated when the former became creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton after the death of Virgil Abloh in 2021. Taylor, a painter, provided portraiture that was then embroidered onto some looks at the fashion house’s Men’s Spring-Summer 2024 show in Paris.
Taylor also attended Monday’s gala, and was styled by Pharrell. He wore a white button-down shirt featuring his own embroidered portraits. His underwear remained under his clothes.
A representative for the artist set the record straight after online commentators began suggesting that Parks was immortalized on Lisa’s crotch.
“The figure featured in Lisa’s Louis Vuitton look is not Rosa Parks, but one of Henry’s neighbors,” a rep told Vulture.
“The faces seen on this look, as well as on previous LV garments featuring Taylor’s artwork, are all drawn from his personal life—family members, friends, and neighbors."
The statement went on: “These figures come directly from Henry’s existing artworks, which he provided to LVMH for Pharrell’s debut collection with Louis Vuitton in 2023.
“None of the individuals depicted in any of the garments are Rosa Parks or other well-known figures from Black cultural history. They are all people from Henry’s own life.”
