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.

I guess part of my interest in the first half is down to my unfamiliarity. The Marc Jacobs half, by contrast I have lived through so there were fewer surprises. I was disappointed that there were no references to his first, very spare, cashmere-heavy collection for Louis Vuitton as most attention was paid to the Katie Grand years and all the theatricality that comes with that. I did love looking at the mammoth digital inspiration board – which included my favourite scene from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and lots of art references…