Louis Vuitton Press Day
Sprouse in the House
Louis Vuitton S/S 2009
A slice of Parisian pomp in the centre of London proffered by an American may seem somewhat incongruous, but with Marc Jacobs' ever-changing collections for Louis Vuitton, the only thing to expect is the unexpected. Edith Piaf trickled from speakers to set the mood for Jacobs' spring celebration of French fancy: ostrich-strewn shimmy skirts, embroidered taffeta cocktail frocks, braided forties suiting and, of course, bags and bags of bags. This season, Vuitton's main export are trimmed with gold cording, lined in snakeskin and hung with African totems by way of Josephine Baker's 20s Montparnasse Revue, in quilted monogram or faux-naif leopard-print. The latter print, developed during Jacobs' first collaboration with the late, great Stephen Sprouse in 2000, also gave rise to an ajoining room and complimentary collection, reviving Sprouse's seminal, sell-out neon graffiti for the house. A vision Jacobs and Sprouse discussed before his demise, this room - and collection - is something of an homage to the New Wave designer whose immense talent was never quite matched by business acumen. Fortuituously, this latest reprise comes just in time for January's Dietch Gallery exhibition of Sprouse's work alongside a new monograph exploring his ouvre - fittingly enough, considering the mutually beneficial collaboration between the house and the Sprouse, this tome will also come with a limited-edition Vuitton cover. With Sprouse's day-glo wares displayed under a blacklight (fab for the clothes but, alas, less than flattering for us) and the cool, crisp menswear displayed in a suitably pared-down space next to the Champs-meets-Congo celebration of Parisian exoticism, you were given a concise, precise 360-degree overview into the many facets of Vuitton's luxury goods behemoth that fairly made your head spin. My favourite piece? The classic monogrammed trunk specially designed to house a veritable slab of finest beluga caviar alongside all the acoutrements to devour it. Excessive, yes, but all the more fabulous for it.