The fashion community has rallied to repair Paris’s Notre-Dame cathedral, following a devastating fire that raged on for more than five hours on Monday. Once flames were extinguished around 11:00 p.m. local time, François-Henri Pinault, the chairman and CEO of the luxury conglomerate Kering, pledged 100 million euros to aid in the restoration of the cathedral. The donation will come from his family’s investment company, Artemis, which was founded by Pinault’s father, François. In a statement posted to Twitter, the younger Pinault wrote, “This tragedy is striking all the French people, and beyond that, all those attached to spiritual values. Faced with this tragedy, everyone wishes to give life back to this jewel of our heritage as soon as possible.” Among Kering’s stable of brands are Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and Balenciaga. Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello posted a tribute to the cathedral on his Instagram, as did Pinault’s wife, Salma Hayek.
Just moments after Pinault’s donation was made public, Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of rival corporation LVMH, pledged 200 million euros for the cathedral’s repair. A statement from the LVMH group read, “The Arnault family and the LVMH Group, in solidarity with this national tragedy, are committed to assist with the reconstruction of this extraordinary cathedral, symbol of France, its heritage, and its unity.” In addition to the donation, LVMH also pledged the creative, architectural, and financial assistance and aid of all of its teams, which includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Celine, Loewe, and Marc Jacobs. Dior Men artistic director Kim Jones shared LVMH’s pledge on Instagram, writing, “Good news out of sad news,” while model Natalia Vodianova, partner to Antoine Arnault, did the same, with the caption, “I am so proud of our family.”
The donations from Pinault and Arnault will jump-start what is expected to be a massive and international fund-raising campaign for the cathedral. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted yesterday a proposal for a conference of international donors next week, while other French corporations have already begun to pledge amounts in the 1 million to 10 million euro range. French president Emmanuel Macron is staunch in his vision to rebuild the cathedral, saying at a press conference outside the building last night, “We will rebuild Notre-Dame because that is what the French expect.”
The cause of the fire that ravaged for five hours and took around 500 firefighters to extinguish is still under investigation. Starting in 2017, the cathedral, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries, began a fund-raising campaign for renovations to its spire, buttresses, and interior that resulted in scaffolding around the building. Some of the interior structures and the spire are also made of wood.
According to various sources within the cathedral’s religious community and France’s government, many of the building’s most important artifacts have been saved. France’s culture minister, Franck Riester, said on French radio that the items within the treasury, including a crown of thorns thought to have been worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, were all recovered, though the cathedral’s organ may have experienced some damage. The fate of some paintings inside the structure is still unknown, and, according to Riester, its three famous rose windows did not appear to have been damaged.
The cathedral has long been a national emblem of France, sitting at the center of Paris on the Île de la Cité. On social media, outpourings of sadness and hope have come from all corners of the fashion community. Riccardo Tisci, chief creative officer at Burberry, wrote, “Feeling deep sadness for what is happening right now at Notre-Dame, a place which holds a big space in my heart. I send all my love and support to all those impacted.” Lutz Huelle posted, “Words cannot describe the sadness. It’s impossible to think that this magnificent piece of architecture might not have been there anymore today.” Many more, including Naomi Campbell, Clare Waight Keller, Julien d’Ys, Helmut Lang, Karen Elson, and Michel Gaubert shared posts expressing their sorrow and dismay. Vogue contributor Amy Verner shared an image of the cathedral taken from a bridge over the Seine this morning, where a faint rainbow can be seen in the hazy, gray sky. “For anyone seeking a sign,” she wrote.
Update: The L’Oréal Group has announced a 100 million euro donation for the restoration of Notre-Dame. In addition, the Bettencourt Meyers family, which founded L’Oréal, will make an additional 100 million euro donation via the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation.
Originally published on Vogue
Editor
Steff Yotka