Louis Vuitton

Weekend in Paris: Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs at Les Arts Decoratifs



Despite the intensive schedule of shows and fashiony events, I made a big effort to see some exhibitions in Paris. Of course, I had to start with a fashion one so off I went to the Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs exhibition at Les Arts Decoratifs. As expected, I found myself more drawn to the first half of the exhibition which explores the innovation of luggage-maker Mr Louis Vuitton himself. This was a fascinating history and design lesson and showed great exhibits like the original ‘Never Full’ bag (below) and the trunk that turns in a bed. The giant animation was also quite something to behold. (more…)



Paris Fashion Week Menswear SS13: Berluti



Berluti SS13

My first men’s Paris Fashion Week was a wheeze of shows, presentations, exhibitions, parties and a tiny bit of shopping. Plus lots of people-watching outside cafes, drinking coffee and wafting pretend cigarettes. One of the most impressive presentations was the Berluti event in the lush Jardin du Palais Royal, I mean just look at the photos… (more…)



Yayoi Kusama covers June Wallpaper magazine



You can keep Jessica Alba for Marie Claire and Cameron Diaz for Harper’s Bazaar, I’m more interested in Yayoi Kusama on the cover of Wallpaper (and she designed it too). My problem with actresses and pop stars on the cover of mags is that each celeb has done so many covers with the required !!EXCLUSIVE!! interview that they literally have nothing of interest left to say. Everything of consequence has been said already. Artists on the other hand tend to be less publicity hungry (obviously there are exceptions) so rarely give interviews and they have a more specific outlook on life which means that when they do, they actually have something worth saying.

If you haven’t yet seen the Kusama exhibition at Tate Modern, do hurry. It ends on 5th June when it then moves to New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art on 12th July. And then on the 15th, we’ll finally see the long-awaited Louis-Vuitton-Yayoi-Kusama ready-to-wear collaboration – with windows in all LV’s stores worldwide showing VM displays created by Kusama of course (think red and white polka dotted eels writhing under the sea). It’s in the diary…

The limited-edition cover by Kusama is available to Wallpaper subscribers and on newsstands in Japan.



Louis Vuitton’s design legacy



Like Cartier, Louis Vuitton has produced a ‘fashion film’ that celebrates the brand’s heritage. Unlike Cartier’s lavish epic of special effects, Louis Vuitton has chosen to tell its story through animation. It’s pretty cool…

Christian Borstlap: Louis Vuitton I on Nowness.com.

The film celebrates the launch of the ‘Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs‘ exhibition that opens in Paris on Friday. Included in the Marc Jacobs part of the exhibition are a feast of multi media displays including a giant Tumblr page that will show some of the images and objects that makes up Jacobs’ style aesthetic. The Louis Vuitton part highlights the innovation of Louis Vuitton the man, who worked with the newest materials of the time and used design to answer a traveller’s needs (hence a trunk that turns into a bed – sheer genius). While Marc Jacobs has undoubtedly done some great things for Vuitton (hello Sprouse graffiti print), his style of design doesn’t really answer problems in the way that the original Vuitton designer did. I would love to see a guest project where industrial designers create LV fashion items that really have a useful function other than in addition to making us look pretty.