The Style Tribes of Louis Vuitton FW19
Nicolas Ghesquière, who has often held his Louis Vuitton shows in museums, has one-upped himself this season. The Maison's Fall/Winter 2019 show was staged once again at the Louvre, but within a set that mirrored the façade of the Centre Pompidou. The transposition was deliberate: the Pompidou is a Parisian modern arts museum situated in the Beaubourg district, a melting pot of cultures which Ghesquière tries to capture in his new collection.
The collection, accordingly, featured a fusion of styles and prints that stood out even against the colourful backdrop. Contemporary, sporty pieces were given a romantic touch by way of floral prints and 18th-century ruffles; elsewhere, there were hints of the punk subculture with leather and tartan details, thick-soled, laced-up shoes and flat boots. The farrago even included leather skull caps, which almost all the models wore. The most obvious reference, though, was the '80s: many looks were framed within a silhouette of wide shoulders, some were embellished with disco ball sequins, and others glared with bold, graphic patterns.
Ghesquière's all-encompassing vision extended to the bags as well. This season, Louis Vuitton's Twist bag comes in a quilted leather Damier, while the Dauphine has adopted a 3D monogrammed Damier pattern. The show also gave us a peek at the new LV Arch, a boxy handbag that features an eccentric cross-over handle.
The Louis Vuitton show was a dizzying note to end Paris Fashion Week on; it would surely require many more perusals to fully absorb. "The story of the collection is sitting in the Quartier Beaubourg and watching the people, instead of looking at my phone,” shared Ghesquière at the show. Indeed, as the designer unveiled a multi-textured collection rife with eccentricities and references, it was undoubtedly hard for guests to look away or resist a double-take.
See the full Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2019 collection below:
