A fashion journey: Louis Vuitton unveils Series 3 exhibition in London
Louis Vuitton unveils Series 3 exhibition in London
Prior to Nicolas Ghesquière fourth ready-to-wear collection show for Louis Vuitton in Paris, the French luxury house opens up the designer’s creative process and influences for a broader public in ‘Series 3’, an exhibition taking up three floors of 180 Strand, a Brutalist office building in central London.
Es Devlin, the award-winning British set designer who also worked with Ghesquière on his last three runway shows, guided Wallpaper* through the space she devised, while it was still receiving finishing touches. ‘It’s the same thing moments before the shows,’ she assures us. ‘You have to enjoy the feeling of this building site in progress.’
The first room is an encounter with a structure that should be familiar to regulars at Ghesquière’s Vuitton shows: a geodesic dome. Here, lifted from a show set, it hangs suspended below a mirrored ceiling. In the background plays a recording of a storm coupled with a text written by Jüergen Teller and recited by Adele Exarchopoulos, immediately introducing the viewer and listener to Ghesquière’s favoured motif of a girl on an expedition. A white tunnel made of sail cloth continues this theme of journey, as does the next room it leads to, where intentionally disorienting videos are projected on walls surrounding an oversized white Vuitton trunk. Inside it, images are shown of iconic Vuitton muses like Catherine Deneuve and Charlotte Gainsbourg, alternated with digital 3D renderings of bags and shots of the interior and exterior of Louis Vuitton’s Frank Gehry-designed Foundation.
Throughout the exhibition, much emphasis is put on the ‘hands’, the craftsmen and women who devote themselves to producing the pieces. You can catch them here in real life, brought over from Vuitton’s Asnières atelier, creating ‘La Petite Malle’ bags. In another, mirrored room, footage of the ‘hands’ at work is shown at desks similar to the artisans’, in order to experience what it must feel like to work meticulously on these bags.
Walking through the 13 rooms of ‘Series 3’, it’s clear that all facets of creation are paramount to Louis Vuitton. Devlin explains, ‘every stage of the process is a conversation, a dialectic between heritage and future, experiment and emotion, present and past.’ We’re invited to take (a) part of it, literally: when exiting one of the last rooms, which has its walls covered with teenage bedroom-style inspirational editorial images courtesy of Bruce Weber and Jüergen Teller, you can simply take one with you.
INFORMATION
Louis Vuitton Series 3 exhibition runs until 18 October; www.louisvuitton.com
Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Siska Lyssens has contributed to Wallpaper* since 2014, covering design in all its forms – from interiors to architecture and fashion. Now living in the U.S. after spending almost a decade in London, the Belgian journalist puts her creative branding cap on for various clients when not contributing to Wallpaper* or T Magazine.
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UK
As A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
By Jack Moss Published
-
Margaret Howell London Fashion Week Women's S/S 2019
By Dal Chodha Published
-
London Fashion Week S/S 2023: Ahluwalia to Martine Rose
Though slimmed-down, London Fashion Week nonetheless provided the moments of creative expression the city is known for – from Ahluwalia’s ode to Africa to Martine Rose’s much-anticipated runway return
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from A/W 2022 menswear shows
A Kubrickian space odyssey at Prada; a recreation of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris at Dior; and colourful, artist-created flags at Loewe: explore the best runway sets from the A/W 2022 menswear shows
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2022: Louis Vuitton to Loewe, Dior to Hermès
In this extended report, Laura Hawkins reveals 9 highlights from Paris Fashion Week Men's A/W 2022. Including: Virgil Abloh's final collection for Louis Vuitton; Rick Owen's riff on sleaze; elfin-inspired accessories; and a celebration of slouch and surrealism
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Louis Vuitton pays tribute to Virgil Abloh in Miami
The French luxury maison – of which the late Virgil Abloh was men’s artistic director until his passing on Sunday 28 November 2021 – held a show in Miami in tribute to the creative innovator, titled ‘Virgil was Here’
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Discover these fashion brands at London Craft Week
During London Craft Week, fashion brands including Smythson, Bally and Serapian are hosting events across the capital
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London
By Laura Hawkins Last updated