10-word show review: Post-medieval cool girls possessing serious main character energy.
Designer: Nicolas Ghesquière
Location: Palazzo Borromeo, off Lake Maggiore
The vision: A two-hour car ride and a stint on a ferry brought us to Palazzo Borromeo, a palace built in the 16th century off Lake Maggiore where an intended outdoor show around the courtyard was moved indoors because of torrential rain. Against a baroque backdrop washed in colours of ivory, bluebell and rust, the show opened with a series of medieval scuba divers adorned with fin-like details that looked like frills rippling from beneath a diving suit or under the arms—almost like an aquatic creature. While mid-century headdresses made out of feathers and paillettes moulded into flowers looked incredibly majestic sitting atop a rippled bib vest paired with slouchy scuba pants and lace-up sneakers. Observably, there was so much to take in at one go as Nicolas Ghesquière took his audience through a time capsule back to the middle ages when Venetian glass art patterns were cast onto capes and sheer slip dresses. Exaggerated proportions were met with a decidedly modern swagger—a clever play on structure with that right amount of ease.
The vibe: There was a slight tension in the air with the sudden change of show space as the Louis Vuitton team had little time to properly allocate seats; resulting in a slight pre-show kerfuffle as guests and editors scrambled through the various halls to look for empty benches. The show opened to the classic score of Les contes Hoffmann, Act III: Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour as models made their way through the various rooms in a hastened stride. It was quite an enchanting experience to see specks of century-old paint flake off from the ceiling and onto the runway like stray confetti as the music took on a heavier beat.
The style: Ghesquière is one of the rare few designers who has the ability to contextualise history while modernising a silhouette all in a single outfit and today saw him at his best. His love for that post-medieval dramatis personae was first seen in his spring/summer 2018 show and this evening, we saw the resurrection of a modern-day priestess (Look 11), a romantic warrior (Look 39) and perhaps even court jesters (Look 38) as these characters took to the floor in one of the most ornate shows of the season. It was a welcoming breath of fresh air given the current obsession surrounding the idea of quiet luxury which to me, treads on boring territory.
What to shop from the collection: It has to be the black scuba body suit with frills that screams mythological water nymph for the 21st century (Looks 3 and 6)—just cropped shorter, which will sit wonderfully on the Asian body type. The season’s key accessory? The re-emergence of the classic Louis Vuitton fisherman bag (Look 19), which gave the Renaissance-inspired ensemble a sporty slant. Other creations like the stained-glass Art Deco dress with romantic ruffles (Look 25) and a fully embroidered baroque shirt (Look 43) flexed not just the sheer artistry of the maison but how these intricate pieces of clothing, with time, would in itself become an actual piece of art.
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Look 3, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 4, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 6, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 11, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 13, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 19, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 21, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 25, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 38, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 39, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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Look 43, Louis Vuitton cruise 2024
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