Louis Vuitton's Stephen Sprouse collection

The 'It bag' frenzy might have waned lately but a new collection by Louis Vuitton might just turn the tide in their favour once again. Stephen Sprouse, graffiti artist and defacer of the Louis Vuitton logo back in 2001, is being revisited, albeit posthumously, by Marc Jacobs in a special capsule collection.

See more of the collection

Reinterpreting the celebrated graffiti print, which arguably kicked-off the ‘It bag’ craze, Jacobs has taken Sprouse’s two motifs – the graffiti and the rose – and splashed them across a selection of small leather goods and streetwear: t-shirt dresses, jeans, sneakers and even a skateboard (complete with Louis Vuitton case).

The collection is a tribute to one of the pioneering fashion-art collaborations, celebrating the life of Stephen Sprouse. It coincides with a retrospective exhibition of the New Yorker’s art, ‘Rock on Mars’ at the Deitch Gallery in Soho, together with a monograph published by Rizzoli: ‘The Stephen Sprouse Book’.

‘It really is a complete homage and a complete combination of what is Louis Vuitton and what is this legendary icon, and the icons and the lasting aesthetics that Stephen left in the fashion world,’ said Jacobs of the collection.

Maybe not the subtlest Spring/Summer items of the season the collection nevertheless has instant cult appeal and is a very fitting way to mark Sprouse’s legacy.

13 January 2009 | Fashion