Louis Vuitton handbags designed in collaboration with the famous architect Frank Gehry are architecture to… to wear! Shown in Miami Beach, the capsule collection is reminiscent of Gehry’s achievements in architecture. The designer of projects such as the dancing house in Prague and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao translated the exuberance of deconstructivism into fashion.
Frank Owen Gehry is a 95-year-old American architect of Polish-Jewish descent. Gehry is a leading representative of deconstructivism. Curved lines, curved shapes and unheard-of expressivity are the hallmarks of this architect. The history of FOGA’s collaboration with fashion house Louis Vuitton is quite long. Gehry’s studio even designed the Louis Vuitton Foundation Building in Paris. The collection shown at the Art Basel art fair is to celebrate the long-standing collaboration.
Fish on the shoulder
The eight bags in the capsule collection are Gehry’s variations on the popular Capucines model, which debuted in 2013. The grey shades of the Concrete Pockets handbag are reminiscent of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Layers of calfskin, reminiscent of sheets of concrete, have been attached to the bag. The curvilinear LV logo in brass is also the architect’s idea.
A three-dimensional red fish ’emerges’ from the white Floating Fish model. The marine animal is a frequent motif in Gehry’s work. Sculptures and architectural elements depicting fish have appeared in, among others: Barcelona, Kobe and Minneapolis. For this reason, the multi-layered red fish also landed on the LV handbag. An interesting detail of the bag’s zipper is the zipper in the shape of the aforementioned fish.
There is another handbag in the collection with a similar motif. The Mini Drawn Fish is a white crocodile leather handbag with a fish drawn on the front. The architect has also drawn scales on the flap.
Building to carry
Shimmer Haze is a model partly made of Plexiglas. The six transparent panels are connected by rivets in the shape of a flower with the LV logo. The transparent case conceals a coloured polymer interior. The colour scheme of the bag refers to the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. Gehry’s design consists of several distinct solids. One of the segments is the same colour as the interior of the Shimmer Haze handbag.
The black and white Analog Bag is a reference to the New York headquarters of the Frank Gehry-designed IAC. The facade of the building resembles a series of waves or sails, which the bag manages to reproduce. The Mini Puzzle handbag has an equally irregular structure. From the outside, the handbag resembles a bouquet of blue flowers. The leather flowers were hand-painted and then attached to the handbag.
Staying in the floral world, the Mini Blossom handbag is worth mentioning. The two coloured elements made of resin resemble two flower petals. The petals refer to the flacon of the perfume Les Extraits designed by Gehry. The colourful flacon was something of an art in itself, and an experienced Italian metallurgist from Murano was responsible for making it. The metal logo of the handbag is reminiscent of elements familiar from the facade of the Louis Vuitton Foundation building.
Crocodile and bear
In addition to fish, Gehry also sculpts crocodiles. That is why it is the crocodile that adorns the handle of the Croc handbag. The dark reptile is a reference to the sculpture in the London restaurant Sexy Fish, which serves mainly fish and seafood. The London crocodile was placed on the wall of the restaurant and is up to four metres long. In the case of Capucines BB Croc, the reptile bites into a white bag, variegated with bright yellow patterns.
By far the most interesting reference to Gehry’s sculptures is the Bear With Us Clutch. The handbag is a miniature version of the sculpture of the same name, which stands in the New Orleans Museum of Art. The purse is made from a thin layer of brass and ruthenium. The arm of the purse with the glittering bear is a metal chain.
Back to the roots
Finally, two models have been added to the collection, with which Frank Gehry’s adventure with LV handbags began. The black and silver Twisted Box is a colour variation on the original handbag from 2014. Back then, Louis Vuitton commissioned Gehry to create a model for the fashion house’s 160th anniversary. The architect designed a twisted box with a leather handle. The leather on the outside of the bag was decorated with the classic LV monogram.
The Louis Vuitton x Frank Gehry capsule collection is a fashion tribute to the luxury brand’s collaboration with the world-famous architect. For this reason, all the models mentioned were created in a limited edition. The handbags should be seen more as works of art than fashion accessories. Prices for handbags from the collection start at €10,000 and go up to €33,000.
Photo source: Louis Vuitton, FOGA
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