“I love dressing women for moments of power,” says Nicolas Ghesquière, who recently celebrated 10 years as creative director of Louis Vuitton.
There were a few Vuitton power moments at the 2024 Oscars and most recently at the Cannes Film Festival, with Cate Blanchett, Emma Stone and Léa Seydoux wearing Vuitton on the Croisette.
Ghesquière had little experience in red carpet dressing when he arrived at Vuitton a decade ago after a successful stint at Balenciaga. “Getting women dressed every day is the ultimate goal,” she continued. “But this Cruise collection is very ostentatious.”
It’s also very 1980s, with its broad shoulders, satin bouffant tops, shawl collars, and music featuring Gary Numan and Duran Duran. “This could set the entire 90s-obsessed Generation Z on a whole new path.” Creating clothes that last a very long time is very important to me. “I saw young people buying vintage pieces that I designed 20 years ago,” said Ghesquière.
The designer was speaking ahead of his fashion show in Barcelona, a city he has long loved. He is an admirer of Spain, especially Catalan Antoni Gaudí, Spain’s most famous architect, a designer known, like Ghesquière, for his unique vision. When it came to choosing the location for this Cruise show, Park Güell, designed by Gaudí and opened to the public in 1926, was an obvious candidate. A series of lush gardens and equally lush, borderline insane Gaudí buildings, the park cascades down Carmel Hill, offering spectacular views of the city and sea.
From a financial standpoint, the Cruise (or Resort as they are also called) collections are probably the most economically important of any brand’s ready-to-wear offerings these days. And Vuitton is a huge fashion brand; the largest in the world. Last year’s revenue exceeded 20 billion euros. So when its designer expresses his desire to be on the Unesco World Heritage list, this happens. Hundreds of guests and dozens of celebrity brand ambassadors, including Emma Stone, Jennifer Connelly, and newly engaged Phoebe Dynevor (along with her longtime mom in the role). Coronation Street), Sophie Turner and Ana de Armas came to watch the event unfold.
Ghesquière explains how they differ from the Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer Ready-to-Wear collections: “Cruise collections started as a way to design clothes for customers going on holiday somewhere warm in the middle of winter.” “They are now in stores longer than any other collection, from November to June. You can do anything you want with them. “They almost transcend fashion.”
Ghesquière’s design always progressed to its own rhythm. But this rhythm had a distinctly Spanish tempo, with black lace and black fringe, Spanish riding hats worn with a jaunty tilt, off-the-shoulder taffeta dresses reminiscent of Ingres portraits, iridescent minidresses with pearls reminiscent of Gaudí’s interiors. the piercing cobalt blue of a Miró painting and oddly fringed ankle boots that resemble furry horse hooves.
If this sounds like dressing-box anarchy, the style is meticulously controlled and the workmanship is superb. This looks very Spanish too.
Ghesquière agrees. “When I think of Spanish elegance, I think of grandeur and austerity. But also madness.”
Some of this madness was on display beyond the park’s gates; Even though it was 8pm and after opening hours, noisy demonstrators protested the temporary takeover of their park by Big Fashion. On the other side of the park, fans were cheering when a celebrity or someone close to a celebrity arrived. Eventually the protesters drowned out the chants. Was that a gunshot? Probably. Vuitton PR looked strained, but that might have been because they were trying to find a getaway car for Sophie Turner. Later, there were reports that the police intervened harshly against the protesters.
“What do the protesters expect?” A Madrid-based magazine editor made a dismissive comment. “Catalans are always protesting against everything. They’ll be here again next week.” But the clothes will disappear like a colorful, explosive hallucination.
More than the show…
