It seems that even the grandiose Frank Gehry-designed spaceship of a building that is the Fondation Louis Vuitton, on the outskirts of Paris, can’t contain the ambition of the label’s designer, Nicolas Ghesquière.
Yesterday’s Louis Vuitton show was instead held in its grounds, in an Eden Project-style agglomeration of biospheres. Here the exotic flowers were from the worlds of fashion and celebrity — the Kim ’n’ Kanye front-row double act (the big news: they held hands), plus Vuitton women of all ages, from Michelle Williams to Catherine Deneuve.
With the sun beating down on the plastic domes above, the hothouse vibe was, even before the show started, a little too tangible.
Ghesquière’s take on the Louis Vuitton brand raised temperatures further. There were slivers of dresses patchworked out of silk and lace or sculpted in gilded brocade, some sliced laterally at the chest. Similarly sleek ribbed knits were given extra oomph with flirty trumpet hems on short skirts and long sleeves.
Though the base palette was muted and monochrome, there were splashes of colour — an aquamarine dress, say — and, above all, of bling, such as the lovely silver and gold tweeds.
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There was a more accessible feel to the designer’s third collection for Louis Vuitton. Hem lengths and shapes weren’t quite as unforgiving as in past seasons, and there were covetable trouser suits in black and beige, as well as chunky crewneck knits that verged on wholesome.