Last week, I was invited by Louis Vuitton to explore their F/W 2011 collection very closely. The event took place in Milan and because of the beautiful sunshine the day started already wonderfully with a pittoresque flight over the Alps.
With his F/W 2011 collection for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs explored the mysterious allure of fashion and fetish. „Fetish,“ said the designer, „has a positive side. It’s an inexplicable sort of concentration on or obsessing with something. I think that also means commitment and discipline.“
The result was a powerful collection that walked the fine line between modesty and provocation, reason and irrationality – an ambiguity evidenced by the juxtaposition of tightness of focus with richness of detail. For my show report, please click here.
First some looks from the runway. Strict silhouettes suggestive of corsets, mannish, military-style jackets and coats softened by ample drop shoulders and the main focus on tthe waist, reminiscent of Belle de Jour. Marc Jacobs toyed with the idea of French maids and their bourgeois mistresses.
Very importantly, the detail – evidence of an artisanal devotion to craft which, in the words of the show notes, is „the apotheosis of fetish“.
Those mask, shoe and glove motifs, for instance, were not printed, but painstakingly sewn in intricately cut sequins.
The collection’s ultimate and not-so-obscure object of desire was the iconic Lockit bag, created in 1958 and reinterpreted in a myriad guises: in shiny Monogram canvas or total-look shearling, in rubberized leather accented with glossy tape, in jewel shades of patent Monogram bouclette, and in nylon with resin handels.
The Lockit clutch comes with a handcuff which can make it literally inseparable from its weare and symbolizes a women’s attachment to her bag. Might be a good idea to secure your object of desire….
The show’s accessories had fun with the fetish theme. Standouts included officer’s caps in fluffy shearling and masks worn in the hair as neo-tiaras.
Shoes played with the girly charm of round-toe pumps accentuated by delicate bow straps and the fetish appeal of daring bondage straps on the collection’s leg-hugging boots. The shiny rubber boots will definitely be among my must-haves.
Louis Vuitton’s fashion jewelry offers beautiful pieces to finish off your winter looks perfectly. I am in love with the stingray embellished earrings.
Personalised items are bestsellers for Louis Vuitton so that it seems all natural to expand the possibilties.
For Louis Vuitton’s F/W 2011 men’s collection, the studio director Paul Helbers, under the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs, has explored the ultra simplified elegance of Amish style and instilled it with a hint of strangeness, inspired by David Lynch.
The predominantly black tone of this collection is lit with flashes of Motel red. The Amish mix and match tradition shows in details like detachable vests or jackets patched in stripes.
In case that you are wondering what to do with your older Louis Vuitton bags, why not put them together as an art and craft. The artist Billie Achilleos came up with some pretty amazing ideas.
If I have whetted your appetite, please take a look at those beautiful pieces that belong to the Pre-fall 2011 collection and will be in stores starting next month.
The new colours for the leo scarfs are so beautiful and those biker boots are my must-haves.
What an amazing collection, W.O.W.!
LoL, Sandra
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
