Nicolas Ghesquière's debut at the house of Louis Vuitton was the most anticipated event of the entire fashion month calendar. Ghesquière not only had big shoes to fill from former designer Marc Jacobs, but he also had his own fifteen-year work at Balenciaga to top as well. Gone was the over-the-top theatrical show set that Jacobs had made famous at Vuitton, and in its place was a giant maze of basic seat blocks with aluminium lighting overhead and a letter penned by the designer in which he graciously commended his predecessor's work. Ghesquière got to work slowly, but swiftly, first by activating the steel shutters that had clamped out all of the light from the Carousel du Louvre, letting pure sunlight infuse his runway. No one knew quite what to expect from his runway designs - would they be the futuristic fantasy-tinged creations he made famous at Balenciaga? Or would he go more trendy and showy like Jacobs? In the end, he did neither, settling instead on a comfortable slice of style known as 'cool-girl clothes'. Ghesquière's silhouettes were rooted in the 1960s, an era that has quickly gained late-game momentum as a major Winter fashion trend. But he did them with considerably more care, craft and attention to detail than we've seen anywhere else. Mini skirts and A-line dresses, the two key shapes of the collection, were constructed from striking asymmetrical collages of coloured full-grain leather, shiny patent leather, knitwear, tweeds and suede. The combinations were blended in both an assuredly and original way, creating streamlined little works of wearable art. Ghesquière had no problem bowing to Vuitton's 150 plus years in business. Oversized gold locks, a house motif usually reserved for handbags, were now pierced through one of the model's ears, and the signature LV monogram was used liberally on newly shaped mini bowler bags trimmed in chic bright red. The most striking part of this collection, apart from the beautifully executed feather and micro sequin panels, was how wearable it all was. For the first time, Vuitton has a booming clothing collection with huge commercial prospects on its hands. Let's see what the leather goods giant does with this generous fashion gift.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
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