SHARE
COPY LINK

NEW YORK

Twin Towers replica in Paris for 9/11 anniversary

A replica of the Twin Towers destroyed in the September 11 attacks will be built on a square opposite the Eiffel Tower in Paris to mark the tenth anniversary of the atrocity, organisers said Tuesday.

Twin Towers replica in Paris for 9/11 anniversary
Mike Gieson

The Eiffel Tower itself will be illuminated by a special light show later the same day, “The French will never forget” group that is hosting a series of events next month said in a statement.  

US ambassador to Paris Charles Rivkin will inaugurate the replica that will be constructed on Trocadero square, it said, adding that the 25-metre (82-foot) towers will bear the names of the people killed in the attacks.  

“The French will never forget” was set up in 2003 by a group of French entrepreneurs living in the United States to try and ease the anti-French sentiment sparked by Paris’s criticism of the US invasion of Iraq.  

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 2001 attacks, 2,753 at the World Trade Center and the others in attacks on the Pentagon and in a hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

FASHION

French designer refuses to dress Melania Trump

There's no doubt which side the fashion world supported during the US presidential campaign.

French designer refuses to dress Melania Trump
New York-based French designer Sophie Theallet dressed Michelle Obama but will not dress Melania Trump. Photo: Joshua Lott/AFP
For years, First Lady Michelle Obama and Democrats' vanquished presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have been favourites with fashion designers who dressed them in clothes aimed at evoking their values.
   
But New York-based French designer Sophie Theallet has gone a step further, throwing down the gauntlet by refusing to dress future first lady Melania Trump because of the political views of her husband, President-elect Donald Trump.
   
Theallet is urging other designers to follow her lead.
 
“As one who celebrates and strives for diversity, individual freedom and respect for all lifestyles, I will not participate in dressing or associating in any way with the next first lady,” she wrote in an open letter published Thursday.
   
“The rhetoric of racism, sexism and xenophobia unleashed by her husband's presidential campaign are incompatible with the shared values we live by.”    
 
“I am well aware it is not wise to get involved in politics,” Theallet added. “That said, as a family-owned company, our bottom line is not just about money.”
   
The letter has prompted a flood of reaction on social media, much of it negative.
   
Theallet, 52, who has worked in the United States for more than fifteen years, is a regular fixture at New York's fashion week.    
 
Her feminine designs have appealed to Michelle Obama, who provided welcome publicity by donning several of her dresses since 2009.
 
“She has contributed to having our name recognized and respected worldwide,” Theallet wrote of the current first lady, indicating purpose behind Obama's fashion choices.
   
“Her values, actions and grace have always resonated deeply within me.”