has there been a show in recent memory so shrouded in secrecy than today’s vuitton one? nicolas ghesquiere granted no interviews and gave no preveiws before showtime, presumably not even to the anna wintour. no, he wanted us to wait with bated breath and to see and feel it all at the same time, whether in person in paris on virtually (this was no tom ford, no cameras/press allowed situation). the first hint that it was something special: the note that showgoers received, as seen here on garypepper’s instagram. clearly he grasped the magnitude of this new role and was humbled by it, but he also seemed to be inspired to tackle this new challenge—reinventing a house that had only been invented (in terms of fashion) less than twenty years ago.
so he looked back to the 60s and 70s, luxurious versions of things i remember my mom wearing: patched leather jackets, a-line skirts, chunky intarsia knits, high waist slim double knit pants, and layering turtlenecks, in woodsy colors like ochre, mustard, chocolate, cornflower blue, and moss green. this being vuitton, the accessories were top notch (something ghesquiere knows a bit about), like miniature trunk bags, quilted versions of the alma bag, and curved heel booties. it wasn’t the hyper-futuristic, super techy pieces you’ve come to expect from ghesquiere from his time at balenciaga. and when he did speak backstage, the thing he stressed was functionality: “what do the girls around me what to wear? i’m surrounded by many women, so i listen to them.” imagine that. even though the world of ghesquiere for vuitton will be most likely unattainable for me (at least i can go to the san francisco flagship and oooh and ahhh), it does make me excited for the direction they are headed.
pics from style.com
