Louis Vuitton – the trunk maker and leather goods house known around the world as a symbol of French luxury – might have been established in 1854, but its history with ready-to-wear is far shorter. It was only in 1998 that the first women’s ready-to-wear collection was designed and presented by Marc Jacobs. Then, in 2013, he handed over the position of women’s creative director to Nicolas Ghesquière.
( Pharrell Williams became LV’s men’s creative director in late 2023 .) Ghesquière was formerly at Balenciaga, which he single-handedly brought back to life with memorable shows that have come to define the early aughts. That was after the French designer trained under celebrated couturier Jean Paul Gaultier .
When he joined “Vuitton”, as he refers to the house, he was widely expected to bring his futuristic design ethos to the storied Parisian label. He defied expectations with his first collection though. Shown in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum in March 2014, Ghesquière presented a wardrobe of key pieces for women on the go.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2014","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/02/4c3ab4b7-5b2d-4265-ac61-b031a4f46c07_a78ba47d.jpg"} Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2014 “My first season was very well thought out and balanced – almost too balanced for some people, who thought, ‘This is it?’” he says, talking to Style in Paris this summer. “They were expecting more architectural elements and more spectacle, and I wanted to show that for many reasons – because I had moved houses and evolved – my signature was to contribute to building a wardrobe and those codes.
“We can say that today this is established and the business has become phenomenal. The entire silhouette exists, with bags and shoes, so I think now there is this mission to add new elements to that vocabulary.” Ghesquière’s contribution to Louis Vuitton has been remarkable .
Besides building a universe around ready-to-wear, he has been responsible for the creation of now-iconic and hard-to-replicate objects like the Petite Malle , the trunk-shaped bag that he unveiled at his first show and that is still one of the label’s signature pieces. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Louis Vuitton Petite Malle","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/02/f9ae213f-333b-46fe-9419-a2e9b38230cf_266418ee.jpg"} Louis Vuitton Petite Malle “I developed these new codes and a recognisable silhouette that people will say is the Louis Vuitton style,” he says.
“It’s something you always work on. There is the fashion intention that’s so important – the things you’re going to propose for the next three to six months. And then there is the style, which is done to last and is almost timeless.
So you’re always working on those two elements that are very strong. You’re a sprinter but you also run a marathon.” It’s this ability to straddle commercial savvy and fashion with a capital “F” that is at the heart of Ghesquière’s tenure at Louis Vuitton.
He is part of a generation of designers who came of age at a time when luxury groups like LVMH began to dominate the industry . The job of a designer also began to change, from that of sheltered creator ensconced in a studio far away from the real world, to that of creative director involved in every aspect of the business. “Sometimes there’s this idea that designers and artistic directors need to be in an ivory tower, but this is not the case nowadays,” Ghesquière affirms.
“If we are in these positions, it’s because we understand the mix of great creativity and a well-thought-out product, and that these could be the same thing.” Take the aforementioned Petite Malle: an item that pays homage to the heritage of Louis Vuitton while reflecting the times we live in. “It’s a trunk for today, which carries the values of the brand in an object that is very luxurious,” says Ghesquière.
“It’s my first design for Vuitton and I still have the drawing. I took a Louis Vuitton book, cut out a few pages and a picture of a trunk, and taped it up like a scrapbook, and that was it.” {"@context":"https://schema.
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jpg"} Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris, March 2024 Unsurprisingly, last year – after months of speculation about Ghesquière’s future at the house – Louis Vuitton’s parent company, LVMH, extended his contract. A decade at the same brand is a remarkable achievement for any designer, especially in an industry where such jobs can come and go at breakneck speed and loyalty is not highly prized. “I’m quite loyal,” says Ghesquière.
“I stayed for 16 years at Balenciaga, and when I joined Vuitton I was hoping I was going to be here for a long time. It’s a beautiful second love story. “I thought that after 10 years, I had many more things to say,” he adds.
“As with any relationship, you have to decide together ...
We expressed [the wish to continue] to each other quite early, so it was not stressful. That’s another example of how stable this house is.” Another of Ghesquière’s early contributions to Louis Vuitton was the introduction of the itinerant cruise show.
The label adopted the idea in 2014 with a very intimate presentation in the Principality of Monaco and since then has taken it to far-flung locations, from Rio de Janeiro to Palm Springs, Kyoto and Barcelona. “It was a fantastic evolution because the brand has so much legitimacy to do cruise,” says Ghesquière, adding that he readily accepted when he was presented with the challenge by LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault , and Louis Vuitton’s then-CEO, Michael Burke. “The idea of travelling for a show is so inspiring, and what’s beautiful about cruise is how you integrate the place and are sensitive to the cultural aspect, [which you then] merge with your own vision .
.. It’s great to think about what the brand has in common with the territory where we show.
For me it’s one of the things I’m happiest and proudest about and cherish the most.” {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"A bag at the Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris, March 2024","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/02/9d370445-b0d6-4189-8a3e-dfd3743dfeb3_df5dbbd9.jpg"} A bag at the Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris, March 2024 Ghesquière is often admired for his androgynous collections but there are usually layers upon layers of references involved with each show, spanning everything from sci-fi films to 18th century French royal attire .
He’s also attuned to what’s happening in pop culture – just look at the pantheon of celebrities surrounding him at Louis Vuitton, many of them actors or musicians that Ghesquière admires and counts as friends. “It’s a galaxy of talent – I’m very curious and I can’t watch everything, but there are things I’m attracted to,” he says. “When I find people I’m interested in, I share it with the team, and then we reach out to them and invite them to the show.
So far we’ve been lucky, but I’m often surprised because they’ll say, ‘I love this, and I remember when you did that.’ If there is a great relationship, then it works and it’s organic. When it’s transactional, you can tell.
I love to discuss what they do, and whether they’re an emerging talent or established talent, I ask what they are doing right now – a movie or project or series.” Ghesquière takes those relationships beyond red carpet dressing or show appearances. He worked closely with actress Emma Stone for the events surrounding her Oscar-winning performance in Poor Things , creating looks that paid homage to the film’s costumes, while staying true to her personal style and the Louis Vuitton aesthetic.
Alicia Vikander, another house ambassador and close friend, wore custom-made Louis Vuitton in her HBO series Irma Vep , a remake of the 1996 film starring another long-time friend of Ghesquière’s, Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung , while Cate Blanchett makes a point of re-wearing Louis Vuitton outfits from seasons past to address sustainability on the red carpet. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Emma Stone at the Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in February in Los Angeles.
Photo: WireImage","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/02/b4c46b8a-081f-457c-9e7c-a74e53dcb21d_858a553f.
jpg"} Emma Stone at the Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in February in Los Angeles. Photo: WireImage Ghesquière has been instrumental in fashion’s evolution over the last decade, thanks to social media and the globalisation of the industry, which has seen brands like Louis Vuitton transformed from makers of desirable things into major cultural forces . “Louis Vuitton is about a way of living, not just dressing: hospitality, food, audio speakers, books .
..” he says.
“When you come from [a place of] excellence in creativity and craftsmanship like Vuitton, of course you’re able to extend your proposition, whether it’s with a watch or a fragrance. It encourages you to become the leader in your own category, and that’s what I felt being invited to join Vuitton.” Far from resting on his laurels, Ghesquière celebrated his 10th anniversary at the house with a blockbuster show at Paris Fashion Week in March, attended by long-time friends and fans including French first lady Brigitte Macron .
To those who have been following his tenure at Louis Vuitton from day one, that show was much more than a series of greatest hits. He says that he thoroughly enjoyed going through the archive with his team, adding that he loves how younger generations are not afraid to “do things again” and are more open to coming up with something new, inspired by looking back. Now that Ghesquière has established such a strong body of work at Louis Vuitton, he can reference his past designs knowing that long-time fans will appreciate the throwbacks, while new followers will discover something new.
“It was an unusual way to approach a show, and we’re going to do it again in a different way and be less afraid because to look to the future, you also have to look to the past with respect and love,” he notes. “It’s the angle you take and [how] you make people feel that they know something but don’t really know – that’s going to make them want to look at it again.” {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Eileen Gu at the Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris, March 2024","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/02/5aa93bdb-26c2-4471-a7ac-bf7b916e5764_ea9062e6.
jpg"} Eileen Gu at the Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris, March 2024 The secret to Ghesquière’s staying power at Louis Vuitton, however, is that regardless of all the noise surrounding the powerhouse label, he is first and foremost a dressmaker, a designer’s designer – someone who has put in the years and the hard work to achieve excellence. “I come from that school with Jean Paul, doing fittings and building looks on the body; picking up fabrics, developing new fabrics, diving into the fabrics; and then looking for the shape. I work in a very academic way,” says Ghesquière of his process.
“I do every fitting, and I learned early in my career at Balenciaga to develop bags. My interest is not only in clothes, but also bags and shoes and the whole silhouette ..
. I do the bags like I do the clothes, and I have sessions where I cut and patch them and redesign. This is probably what I enjoy the most in my job.
” Humbly referring to ready-to-wear as a “junior category at Vuitton” when compared with other departments at the house, Ghesquière says that there’s nothing more “fascinating and exciting” than writing this new chapter of the history of the brand. Ultimately, for him fashion is all about emotion, whether he conveys it through a product you want to get your hands on, or a show that “makes people dream” – even if they only see it on a phone screen. “I notice that when you put so much effort, when you put so much love in, usually the result goes with it.
That’s what I believe.” Ghesquière trained with Jean Paul Gaultier and spent 15 years at Balenciaga before taking over from Marc Jacobs at the storied LVMH-owned brand -- innovations include introducing cruise collections and the iconic Petite Malle trunk.
