Louis Vuitton spring 2020

I have never questioned the talent of Nicolas Ghesquière but I always question how it is utilized and how it takes shape. He is unquestionably a créateur; his collections range from absurdly insane to a collection like this which borders on the commercial even though at the prices nothing is commercial.

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At any rate, in a dress season, he certainly hit all the right notes from the very simple to the volumetrics of white dresses to the over the top prints. I look at the collection as being very item driven from tulip skirts to some wonderful jackets and outerwear. My point is simply that even though LV is far from dependent on ready to wear as a source of income, a collection like this surely puts a shine on the brand and is not dismissed as who cares or just filler for the stores.

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I wish he could harness his talents to find the happy medium between the over designed and some of the ultra-simplicity that he displayed in this collection. Oh, and by the way, yes it actually looked like a spring collection! Just a little note that this go round, the collection was over styled or over accessorized.

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PS.. I also had the thought that Ghesquière looked to the future while dear Hedi looked back!

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Louiis Vuitton resort 2020

There are several things that you must keep in mind when viewing this collection and first and foremost is that this is not meant for mass distribution or to garner gigantic sales numbers. Vuitton is ultimately in the leather goods business and not in the apparel business. The clothes are the icing on the cake and I’d be willing to bet barely register a blip in the revenue stream. In essence this is not designed or meant to appeal to the fashion masses, Ghesquière sits in the enviable position where all he must do is present collections that garner hype and media attention while offering his seasonal vision for the brand which is most notably used in their print advertising.

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As I have previously said about Vuitton, there is no archive, there is no look there is no distinct signature other than their iconic logo which all adds up to anything goes and remember this has limited distribution at best.

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In an ode to NYC, it seemed fitting that the newly restored TWA terminal by Aero Saarrinen was the setting ... if you need to know he was then think this way, he was the Zaha Hadid of his era. The clothes shown were a bit futuristic, precise and architectural. In an almost impossible setting to show a collection, the parade of models walked a dizzying maze of a runway that must have needed the likes os a Vasco de Gama plot its course.

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The collection is not for kids, there is a feeling that the clothes emit a much more couture like feeling with lots of innovation but sadly they needed to be dialed down a notch or two as we were headed to visual overload. I wasn’t really sure why he chose to use the Thierry Mugler skull cap from his “bug” collection and I certainly believe that the show styled differently would have cast a totally different mood on the collection. I didn’t understand the rolled hair of the 40s and maybe that’s all exactly the point.

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Ghesquière ran the gamut from boxy Bermuda’s to high waisted pleated pants to pouf skirts of the 80s to his version of a sarong skirt to stirrup pants. Oh the luxury of freedom! There was a capelet thing going on or maybe it was a sci fi Super girl thing, I’m not sure but in some cases it worked and in some not so much.

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All of my blather really boils down to is this is a collection that cannot be compared to others and that in its dissection there were some spectacular pieces and some hopefully very forgettable pieces. The finish looked perfect and if the truth be known my favorite pieces were all the pinstripes which were over shadowed by all the glitz, gimmick and glamor of their counterparts.

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Again, this is not aimed at mass appeal and if I had to hazard a guess the Asian market will have a field day with it. Will it play in LA, Paris or NYC or Miami… I’d say there are pieces that will but not as a collection.

Louis Vuitton resort 2019

The clothes had a cool factor that was vintage Ghesquière: a little bit cult-y, a lotta bit ’80s, with a soupçon of executive realness, and, for good measure, some beaded silk lingerie bits and hand-painted acid-washed denim.

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Imagine that in the same review excepted above that the word eccentric was used……………. the reviewer is obviously either a master of understatement or just a complete fool… personally I’d go with fool! In that same piece of paid for tripe the review speaks to the ”house codes” (of which there are none) and how the intergalactic over knee athletic intergalactic flat soled boot will be a slam dunk  hit for the brand at retail …. I guess EMS will be working overtime scraping up women from the pavement who are as unable to walk in them as were the models.

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What I see here are clothes ... just clothes for the sake of clothes. Clothes that are overworked, over designed to be intentionally odd, often heavy handed and on the whole pretty unwearable except for the Asian and Middle East clientele who buy a label rather than fashion. What astounds me more is that last season, one had the notion that Ghesquière was going to move away from fashion freakdom and move towards collections that had a broader appeal, even if just to a minority of the 3% who might be able to afford this “stuff.”

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What cannot and will not be ignored is that apparel is but a speck of dandruff on the suit of Arnault. Vuitton is a money machine, a cash   cow and a heritage brand that might only be rivaled by Dior. Sadly when it comes to clothes, both brands offer little to people who want to look chic or well-groomed but they sell a shitload of ancillary products. Rather than the”classy” option these are the clothes aimed to appeal to a generation of musicians who make noise rather than music and for some whose bust size is larger than their IQ

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Kudos to Nicholas, you have the best job in the world… you get to just make silly clothes at extraordinary prices; the clothes barely register a blip in the big “monde:” of Louis Vuitton. You are there to provide HYPE and nothing else. Money and hype can be incredible intoxicants and aphrodisiacs for a designer who has no restraints.

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PS…. Buried within this cacophony of clothes there were actually a few pieces that will have some appeal to those who would want to look tasteful or own a piece of extreme workmanship but you will need a scalpel to dissect this collection in order to find them.

Louis Vuitton fall 2018

Nicolas Ghesquière apparently received either a message from god, an internal memo or had an epiphany and realized that clothes have to sell! The message is clear that this may be one of the most commercial collections that Ghesquière has ever done for Louis Vuitton and I might add it is rather refreshing not to be wondering who or why these clothes would be bought let alone worn. 

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It is also a breath of fresh air to see clothes that don’t require an instruction manual; they are pretty straight forward and would have really been even more appealing and effective had the girls not looked so pissed off. 

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Lots of separates meaning skirts, jackets, blouses, coats  and even some dresses which were beautifully executed, the tiered capelet effect is a common thread that runs throughout as well as that sort of medieval shoulder harness or brace.

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If there is one thing that might have been left “on the cutting room floor” it might have been that extra wide laced up corselet belt which didn’t exactly do much for any exit where it was used. For someone who usually tends to do tricked out complicated clothes, Ghesquière proves he can actually design clothes for real people and not just victims of fashion or from some alien fashion cult. In a way this is a minimalist collection chez Vuitton. 

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It occurs to me that had some of his peers received the same communications, the entire season might have been a stellar one that produced clothes that retailers can actually sell.

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