Louis Vuitton Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière celebrates an ever-stylish and icy milestone. How does he honor a decade-long tenure with the Maison?
Somewhere at the Louis Vuitton show, there is a quiet whisper, aggressive in its tone yet welcoming in its gesture. It seeks to understand, just as to be understood. With the cold touch of the Parisian night, a colossal decorative object hung suspended, its otherworldly design adorned with spikes and flashes, a timer perpetually stuck at 0. It was a gathering that seemed like a dystopic end-of-the-world party, or rather a beginning of something new: larger, grander, special. This enigmatic time marked the celebration of a remarkable milestone: Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière’s tenth anniversary with the Maison, presenting a futuristic spectacle as he looks forward to the next.
RELATED: Louis Vuitton FW24 Menswear: The Modern Spirit of the Wild West
As the hum of man began, the first models walked the earth. The setting was unmistakably wintry, a tableau befitting the Fall/Winter showcase: a stage in hues of frost and ice, evoking a sense of chilling beauty. It was a scene governed by an unspoken decree, a rule etched in white stone—the thematic undercurrents of 2024 laid bare for all to behold: Icy color palettes, fringe detailing, sheer overlays, and oversized shoulders. There was a sense of familiarity, however, a recognition that these elements were not groundbreaking in their novelty. Instead, they existed as echoes of cyclical trends, returning like old friends that come back in and come toward to, much like time (or the orb) suggests—moving forward, going backward, standing at 0.
Yet, as if allergic to otherwise extremes, such as having no-pants or logomania or layered pieces in different textures one can occupy the space of a Halloween costume versus simply high-fashion, Ghesquière’s collection proudly avoids it, and I’m proud of that, too. It’s as if he’s taken a Claritin against these trends that would turn the collection into caricatures from Monsters, Inc., and makes it known these are made for the Louis Vuitton woman. Ghesquière understands this woman—confident, sophisticated, and unapologetically modern.
And they were modern. The collection exuded a look that was contemporary yet European in its regard. I remember a time when the French luxury brand was otherwise old-looking in its structure and its notice, worn only by a certain age demographic because of its perception. As time pushed forward, and new people—brave, unafraid, inventive, creative—were pulled to the helm, the experimental nature of the new generation (like Ghesquière’s ten years ago) paved the way for high fashion to become cool again. The Maison was something to be earned and yearned for once more.
Over at the collection, sheer dresses with embellished circular details embraced soft clothing underneath, paired with furry gloves. Jackets cinched at the waist, almost giving it a corset-like effect, enveloping the figure in ways one wants to be embraced. Print dresses, while graphic, don’t overwhelm as they stand alone in the quietness of their comrades. It was a sea—or icy, given the theme—of blues: icy, pastel, cobalt, but more of the influence of the blue frost that gives it a harsh winter charm that, in essence, charms.
Suddenly, the music kicks up: luxurious clubhouse music fills the air through the gaps, masking its reverie with a noise so proud it doesn’t distract, but enhances. And the next looks of the collection do enhance. Yellow and gold take the front, accompanied by the changing color of the orb, like a shift of mood you might as well call it a mood ring. Gold pants with gold zip-up sweaters touched in a fabric that illuminates with every step. A pleated blazer and skirt, with the same pleated bandeau top, are matched with each other. An intricate silhouette that’s like an hourglass but yet structured in a way that looks sharp was tinged in a bright, delicious orange.
Then, something interesting happened. The music further leveled up and complemented what was coming out next, a standout that’s sure to be a favorite: something so icy in its delivery, so cold in its embrace, so desperate to be wanted—And I did want it. It was the jacket so embellished and embroidered in its ocular vision that its architectural aspects magnetized so hard, it’s almost crushing once worn, let alone only to be seen.
It’s no surprise that Ghesquière is a gift to the Maison. Over the last ten years, he wondered and wandered to understand. In the end, he was understood. Time reached back and pushed out what was known to be the Louis Vuitton woman, more entrenched and enhanced, in the creative director’s own doing: Flourishing and never floundering, touching but never pulling, upholding yet never destroying. The quiet whisper, aggressive in tone and welcoming in gesture, is not the wind. It is the blood so warm, it melts the harsh coolness of the air. It is the blood of the Maison, made peace with Nicolas Ghesquière—full of vitality in his tenth year, and moving beyond.
Photos: LOUIS VUITTON
