With all but a worn, well-loved leather suitcase on the countdown cover, there certainly doesn’t seem to be much to give away this season. But fashion loves a reference, and if the suitcase didn’t at the very least point audiences to the maison’s origins as a luggage-maker, then it provides another piece to the puzzle surrounding Louis Vuitton‘s cruise 2027 show—that being another well-known figure in the zeitgeist: Keith Haring.
Choosing to spotlight Haring’s distinct visual language—sprawled across the luggage in black marker—the visual cue points to the significance of this year’s cruise. More than a show, it marks the beginning of a three-year sponsorship of The Flick, which also happens to be the location of where the cruise show will be hosted this year.
Housed in one of New York’s last great Gilded Age maisons, The Frick Collection is home to a collection of European masterpieces from the Renaissance era to the 19th century across paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. As part of this new partnership, the maison will sponsor a new role within the esteemed museum: the Louis Vuitton Curatorial Research Associate. This title will be held by Yifu Liu, whose research focuses on cultural exchange and the hybridisation of artistic practices between Europe and China in the eighteenth century. In this role, Liu will bring long-overdue attention to the extensive holdings of Asian porcelain in the Frick’s permanent collection, and further the dialogue between the works held by Louis XV and XVI and that of the Qianlong Emperor.
Louis Vuitton will also sponsor three major special exhibitions across the three-year period; and finally, support The Frick Collection’s free monthly Friday evenings, offering free public access to the museum on the first Friday of each month, from June 2026 through May 2027.
“Presenting the Cruise collection at The Frick Collection marks the beginning of a meaningful relationship with an institution devoted to excellence and cultural heritage, further affirming Louis Vuitton’s commitment to engaging with art spaces that inspire and elevate creative expression,” muses womenswear artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière. “This new chapter particularly resonates with the House’s Cruise 2020 show at the TWA Flight Center in New York, conceived as a dialogue between Paris and New York, as well as the Cruise 2026 presentation at the Palais des Papes through its cultural appeal as “a place where great theatrical passions are played out.”
With nothing but a countdown and a picture of Keith Harring’s graffitied luggage to go off of—we’re keeping our eyes peeled for this one. Some familiar faces expected to sit front row at the show include newly-minted ambassador and Olympian Alysa Liu. Tune in to catch the livestream of the Louis Vuitton cruise 2027 show, happening live on 21 May, 630AM SGT.
