Marc Jacobs, one of the most influential contemporaneous designers, takes stock of the Louis Vuitton phenomenon in Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs. How did Louis Vuitton kick off his career? What did Jacobs add to the Vuitton legacy? These questions and more receive a striking visual exhibition, curated by Pamela Golbin, Chief Curator of Les Arts Décoratifs, and the brain behind such iconic shows as the Hussein Chalayan, Elsa Schiaparelli and Cristobal Balenciaga retrospectives.
On the first floor, we find the very first registered patent versions of the iconic Louis Vuitton trunks – including a fabulous late nineteenth century bed trunk – to remind us, lest we forget, that Louis Vuitton was a specialized “trunk-maker and packer” before it turned into one of the world’s most prominent fashion houses. Looking at the precious exponents, however, a lineage of attitude and innovativeness can be retraced: noticing that the female bourgeois wardrobe was developing fast (like the introduction of one dress for each time of the day, for instance) the trunk-maker added a decisive precision “Speciality in the Packing of Fashion”. Ever since, Vuitton developed his very own aesthetics: while the first trunks were covered in grey waterproof wax canvas, he continued to creating more attractive ones like the striped the “Damier” canvases, which integrated his insignia on the trunk. In 1896, his son Georges continued the legacy and invented the now ubiquitous “LV” monogram, made even more desirable with a Takashi Murakami facelift over a century later.
Marc Jacobs, on the other hand, invite us into his eye-popping and flashy world of contemporary Louis Vuitton, from Dorothy to Courtney Love and beyond. (As impressive as a romantic bed-trunk can be, it’s hard to compete with a Kate Moss mannequin—her head replaced by that of a snarling panther—wearing a French maid ensemble of Jacobs’s design and posed on all fours.)
By introducing the house’s first ready-to-wear collections in history, not to mention accessories, the Jacobs certainly made the cash tills at LV ring. But financial success aside, Marc Jacobs states he’ll continue to create “with impulses rather than numbers, because fashion is not a science”. Alongside the light-boxes, you’ll discover an array of thrilling window installations, such as a Steven Sprouse inspired wallpaper set, reminiscent of the iconic graffiti logo bags back in 2001, or a cheeky cupcake-inspired window setting that showcases one bag of each collection Jacobs did so far.
Besides retracing the story of two fantastic men, one floor dedicated to each, the exhibition is predominantly about two historical parallels that can be translated into fashion: nineteenth century industrialization and twenty-first century globalization, two historical periods that saw paradigmatic shifts in mercantile custom, and which left a considerable impact on fashion consumerism.
The wall of handbags, albeit its relevancy to the tale of a company’s transformation, still exudes commerce at its most basic level. So while Jacobs has brought artistry, visual culture, and a hyper-popism to Louis Vuitton, at its core it still remains a specialist in packing— and packaging—fashion.
Lousi Vuitton – Marc Jacobs
Musée des Arts Décoratifs
March 9 – September 16, 2012