Paris Autumn/Winter '08

Louis Vuitton, Autumn/Winter 2008 (scroll down to read more)
Louis Vuitton
All change at Louis Vuitton. At around ten past three, as guests were looking for their seats in no particular rush, Marc Jacobs came out on to the middle of the runway and yelled at everyone "Alright, take your seats everyone, we're starting". There was a mad rush to sit down, everyone taken aback by this newfound promptness (the show was scheduled for three but most had expected the customary hour plus wait). So out with the old and in with the new. Gone were the Richard Prince canvases, gone was the eclecticism and gone were the weird and wonderful fabric treatments. In its place Jacobs went minimal and concentrated on a strong sculptural silhouette. There were plenty of references but as usual they were hard to pin down to a particular place, and that is the point. With conical fezes, swirling metal jewellery and elbow length gloves the show had what Jacobs called 'the air of a proper French fashion show'. It was hard yet soft, like the tent with its industrial scaffolding outside and its soft semicircular setting within lit like a Jean-Michel Folon painting. Hard were the crinolines that gave structure to some of the jackets, coats and dresses (outlined in thermo-adhesive tape). Harder still were the metal crinoline-belts that peaked out below some jackets and the shoes, a stiletto-platform combo that stacked up to 18 cm. Softness came in the muted colour, fabrics and bags (subtly embossed with the monogram).