Louis Vuitton takes a journey to Atlantis

Yesterday’s show space was bathed in a mysterious blue light; columns of crystal covered in 200,000 pieces of shattered mirror jutted out at different angles, sprouting up from the geodesic domes just behind the Fondation Louis Vuitton. These were created by French artist Justin Morin, who Nicolas Ghesquière had enlisted to articulate this surreal Atlantis of discovery. “I wanted to reflect something quite quiet and archaeological,” said Ghesquière backstage after the show. “It was my idea of an Atlantis city, when you discover something that makes you feel like you’re on a beautiful archaeological site, but again, in my way, with my vision.”

This site of excavation was a handy visual metaphor for Ghesquière to dig deep, dust down the relics of his own design past – both old and new – to create a mix as an ode to the way we dress today. “I think Louis Vuitton is about my remakes of new classics and I wanted to reflect how much sport is important. The way women dress today is that mix and they would dress like that on the streets, and I’m not pretending to looking forward. It’s really not to do a big statement, it’s my combination of the Vuitton wardrobe again.”

“I wanted to reflect something quite quiet and archaeological. It was my idea of an Atlantis city” – Nicolas Ghesquière

As Lou Reed’s seminal track “Street Hassle” blared out, soared from orchestral strings to acoustic guitar to a rock bass crescendo, Ghesquière’s hybrid garments also jumped from genre to genre and style to style. Classic scarf prints crossed paths with sporty stripes and be weighted down by patent harness tops. Boxy jackets merged into tracksuit tops. Moulded couture volumes were pitted against athletic zippers and jogging trousers. Sweatshirts segued into classic gold–buttoned military jackets. Graphic jacquard knitwear were like warped takes on cycling jerseys. Everything fitted and then flared on purpose.

“A few years ago, it was all about either structure or looseness,” said Ghesquière. “Today, women mix those things – extreme architecture extreme fluidity – and I realised I never explored these combinations, and I thought it was interesting to do it for Vuitton.” The show’s one constant was the lug–soled chunky boots made for stomping the streets. A final passage of seemingly innocuous sequined slip dresses had their own twist – an ode Martin Margiela’s trompe l’oeil, a seminal artefact of fashion’s past that is now fit for repurposing.

Some might say that sports luxe as a genre has had its day. The proliferations sportswear tropes, be it bonded fabrics, trainers or hoodies, have been rife over the last few years – but lest we forget, Ghesquière brought those sportswear aspects to the fore during his tenure at Balenciaga and it’s ingrained in his design lexicography. For him, it’s not about riffing off of any sport in a literal sense but about evoking the idea of being active and on the go. His women aren’t placidly sitting still even in this archaeological site, they’re moving swiftly. “These sports references are all in our eyes, we all live within sports clothes, and sometimes we find ourselves wearing sports clothes with other types of clothes. Again, it’s the way women dress today. And I thought ‘Okay, what is my way of showing that?’”

Watch Louis Vuitton AW16 below: