This year, Louis Vuitton is launching a superb collection of handbags created in collaboration with legendary architect Frank Gehry. Art Basel Miami Beach. The collection is presented alongside Gehry’s other works created for the House as part of their long-standing partnership.
THE Louis Vuitton x Frank Gehry The limited edition handbag collection is on display at the brand’s architectural stand at Art Basel Miami Beach. The collection centers around three key themes from Gehry’s career: architecture and form, material exploration and animals, and features designs inspired by the iconic Capucine silhouette.
Handbags
Each handbag is meticulously crafted to showcase Gehry’s artistry while respecting Louis Vuitton’s original vision. The Capucines MM Floating Fish features leather marquetry inspired by the Louis Vuitton Foundation swimming pool lamps. The texture of the Capucines MM Concrete Pockets imitates that of Gehry’s constructions and is obtained using 3D cement-effect screen printing. Glass-like resin petals adorn the Capucines Mini Blossom with the hammered LV logo – a subtle nod to Gehry’s other works for Louis Vuitton.
The Twisted Box, for which Gehry first created Monogram Celebration in honor of the 160th anniversary of Louis Vuitton, is also present in the collection and revisited in two new versions. You can see the original cowhide exterior as well as the new sleek black and trendy silver at the Louis Vuitton booth. Finally, the Bear With Us cover is inspired by Gehry’s 2014 sculpture of the same name and is a masterpiece of metalwork. It features a specially designed removable metal chain and is lined with lambskin.
The Louis Vuitton stand
The stand showcases Gehry’s design style and is decorated with wooden and cardboard models central to the architect’s design process. The exterior is enveloped in five sail-like mesh structures, alluding to the 2014 window displays Gehry created for Louis Vuitton. Inside, the experience is organized around four themes dear to Gehry: architecture and form, material exploration, animals and his twisted box for Monogram Celebration.
Alongside the handbag collection, other works by Gehry for Louis Vuitton are on display at the stand. His trunk-sculpture “A Tea Party For Louis” was originally made for 200 trunks, 200 Visionaries to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the House. Featuring eight whimsical figures inspired by Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderlandeach one resembles an imaginary Gehry building enjoying a high tea for the brand’s founder.
Gehry’s Les Extraits perfume bottles with their unique handcrafted caps are displayed along with the Les Extraits Flaconnier designed to carry them. Preparatory sketches and drawings, as well as models exploring his design for the Louis Vuitton Foundation, are on display for visitors to discover his inspiration and process, as well as videos of his previous collaborations and a portrait of the architect created by the French artist Jean-Philippe Delhomme. .
The booth is open to the public December 8-10 in the West Hall of the Miami Beach Convention Center.
(Photos: Louis Vuitton)
