Aznim Ruhana Md Yusup
With a new creative director, Louis Vuitton’s latest collection is understated yet desirable, writes Aznim Ruhana Md Yusup
WHEN Nicholas Ghesquiere joined Louis Vuitton as creative director eight months ago, the luxury brand said he would bring “a modern, creative vision to its women’s collections, building on the values of refinement, savoir-faire and extreme quality”.
It was a much awaited appointment following Marc Jacobs’ departure from Vuitton a month earlier. Ghesquiere was without a commission at the time, having left French fashion house Balenciaga the previous year.
He had spent 15 years at Balenciaga, helping to transform the once ailing brand into a success again, attracting celebrities like Rihanna and Kristen Stewart. Fashion editors raved about his sculptural designs and his innovative use of ultra-modern fabrics.
As such, his parting was a shock to the fashion establishment. But Ghesquiere still has unfinished business there — a rather unpleasant one. He’s being sued for allegedly making unflattering comments about the company in an interview. A French court will reportedly decide on the matter at the end of this month.
But at Vuitton, fresh challenges await. Revenue-wise, Vuitton is approximately 25-30 times the size of Balenciaga.
Ghesquiere is not only responsible for ready-to-wear collections, but also leather goods, that make the bulk of the company’s business.
This comes on the heels of so-called logo fatigue, where customers have begun to tire of the ubiquitous LV emblem, not to mention having to deal with an overload of counterfeit products. Vuitton is now pushing new lines of very high-end leather goods to counter the slide.
On the 42-year-old designer’s appointment, Women’s Wear Daily commented: “Known for his exacting, couture like approach, Ghesquiere could help Vuitton in its quest to build a more upscale and elite reputation after years of rapid global expansion and a heavy reliance on monogram canvas.”
MARCH OF PRET-A-PORTER
With such high expectations, it is no surprise that Ghesquiere’s first collection, for Fall-Winter 2014/2015, was arguably the most anticipated runway show at Paris Fashion Week last March.
Unlike Jacobs’ flair for theatrical catwalks, Ghesquiere kept it simple with grey carpeting and a background of metal blinds that let the sunlight in. “I didn’t want to do a theme or a story,” he told Vogue. Instead, he tried to express an easiness, a mood reflective of the way a modern woman dress.
Danish model Freja Beha opened the show wearing a black leather coat with a wide caramel-coloured collar and carrying the new Petite Malle bag. The name translates into small trunk, and it’s a miniature of the classic trunk complete with gilded fastenings but also a (removable) thin leather strap so you can tote it on your shoulder.
As the show continued, Ghesquiere’s vision became more apparent. His predominant silhouette was the stiff A-line cut. This was seen on coats to dresses and skirts, which he paired with knit sweaters and deep V-neck vests.
His colours came in maroon, mustard, black, blue and various shades of brown — consistent with the 1960s and 1970s era from which he took his inspiration. Unsurprisingly, he used a lot of leather, not just for the accessories but also the clothes.
A few high-high slit dresses combined leather and a tweed-like fabric created a stark contrast in texture. The signature trousers were high waisted and skinny. Shiny too, in black or navy patent leather.
Suzy Menkes wrote for the New York Times that the collection “was missing any pulsating sense of change. And maybe that was right. Ghesquiere did not set out to rock the boat, but rather to turn it in a different direction. All the signs indicate he is heading to the right place, at the right time.”
At GILLY’S
The time was also right to bring the collection to Asia. It was presented to Asian media at Gillman Barracks in Singapore, a former British military camp turned into a contemporary arts cluster.
It was an opportunity to examine the clothes up close. What looked like tweed fabric in some of the dresses, was in fact textured wool, and its construction was far more complicated than the standard material.
Meanwhile, a grey skirt made of raised knit fabric was decked in segments and looked like feathers. But up close, they were thin metallic squares, sewn close together to give that effect.
The boots with their banana heels were made of crocodile skin and came in one seamless piece of hide. Meanwhile the knotted leather belt was said to be inspired by a cloth strap that held books in place inside one of Vuitton’s old world library trunks.
What about the bags, the lifeblood of Louis Vuitton?
Ghesquiere had designed a one-handle leather bag with a crisscross pattern, similar to the quilted lining inside a vintage steamer trunk. The motif is a Ghesquiere signature, and can be found in other bags as well, including the Alma.
But the new It bag from the collection is likely the Petite Malle — the miniature trunk. Inspired by the luggage of early 20th cCentury traveller Albert Kahn, it comes in the traditional monogram canvas, as well Vuitton’s epi leather in various colours.