Sandra‘s Closet

Let me introduce you to LOUIS VUITTON Star Blossom – an easy-to-wear jewellery collection that celebrates the Monogram Flower against a background of rose gold and diamonds. A legendary motif, created in 1896 by Georges Vuitton.
Recognisable, simple, current… This star-like flower becomes a talisman. Its four petals form a lucky charm and reappear endlessly in all their elegance and sophistication. Featured on pendants, earrings, rings and bracelets, women can make it their own by wearing, layering and stacking it. A precious and casual way to reveal your personality and change your style to suit your mood.

About the Responsible Jewellery Council
In 2012, Louis Vuitton has obtained RJC certification confirming the everyday application of the moral, social, societal and environmental principles championed by the Responsible Jewellery Council, throughout the lifespan of its watches and jewellery products, from the extraction of the precious stones and metals to their distribution, through their transformation by our craftsmen.
For further information: responsiblejewellery.com

So so beautiful … I am in love and you?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

«It started with our love for animals, it’s where Nicolas and I really connect beyond fashion.» – Grace Coddington

At LOUIS VUITTON’s Cruise 2019 catwalk show amidst the Mirós and Giacomettis of Saint-Paul-de-Vence’s Fondation Maeght, Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic director of women’s collections, presented a too-die-for collaboration with Vogue contributing editor Grace Coddington.

Nicolas Ghesquière and Grace Coddington in a silk pyjama set from the collaboration at the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2019 show last May. 

The line sees the famous redhead putting her spin on the brand’s iconic monogram pattern, embellishing it with illustrations of her two cats, Pumpkin and Blanket. Moreover her designer friend’s dog Léon finishes off the animalistic collection that also includes patent leather bags in the cartoony shapes. I love every single piece!

The full range of items, including handbags, leather goods, and ready-to-wear, will arrive in Louis Vuitton stores in October.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton, via Martien Mulder for WSJ. Magazine

Guess who didn’t bring flats or socks, but managed to pack the peep-toes? This has probably lost you a few friends in past days. But those times are over.

For fall, we’re going up — to the mountain that is. Hiking boots are one of the biggest footwear trends of the season and they’re giving traditional western, motorcycle and knee-high boots some competition.

Flashtrek leather high-top trainers by Gucci

The boots have certainly gained traction in the past few months. There’s Gucci’s Flashtreck sneaker  which is flying off the shelves and there’s Off-White’s collaboration with Timberland, which spawns a pair of gorgeously stompy velvet boots, a unique take on the classic footwear staple.

Velvet Timberland boots by Off-White

How to style them: Fashionistas all over the globe don’t save them for days with severe weather warnings only. They wear them year-round with everything from jeans and corduroys to silk dresses.

Here are some more of my favorite «Duke of Edinburgh–worthy hiking boots» available at the moment:

Black heart desert platform boots by Louis Vuitton

Two-tone textured-leather and suede ankle boots by Proenza Schouler

Mad 70 spiked quilted leather ankle boots by Christian Louboutin

Edna shearling-lined leather and suede ankle boots by Ganni

Leather-trimmed suede ankle boots by See by Chloé

Rockstud leather hiking boots by Valentino

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands and Getty

Setting out to discover distant horizons can lead to experiences that are as unexpected as they are magical. An aurora borealis rising across a lava desert.
A cloud of fireflies taking flight in a tropical forest.
A shower of shooting stars raining down over the open sea.
Such rare and fantastic phenomena become engraved in the memory forever.

LOUIS VUITTON Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, fascinated by the trace of such fleeting moments that you wish you could keep forever, dreamed up an enchanting composition: a jubilant perfume that stirs all the senses and celebrates our capacity to experience awe. To grasp what is impossible to capture. To photograph the natural mirages we envision constantly. In his quest to embody waking dreams from far-flung explorations, he found the olfactory direction for Attrape-Rêves.

Such a composition would never settle for a conventional beauty. It needed an explosive fragrance trail; one that was vibrant and surprising in equal measure. Inspired by the euphoria one feels when gazing at a burst of shooting stars, he let himself be guided by an African cacao flower of absolute purity. A raw material, treated in Grasse, that distills regressive, animalistic inflections.
To airy cacao, he added a bouquet of peony, delicate flower with thousand petals, fresh and luminous. He reinforced the power of the duo by pairing it with the slightest touch of essence of patchoulol, the noble, modernized heart of patchouli. Even then, settling for a gustatory fragrance was out of the question. Like an olfactory about-face, lychee and Turkish rose absolute created an unexpected and purebred elegance. He also used ginger and bergamot like flavor enhancers, to amplify this extraordinary perfume’s contrasts and freshness.

Eau de Parfum Attrape-Rêves 100ml 210€
In-store refill 100ml 125€
Eau de Parfum Attrape-Rêves 200ml 320€
In-store refill 200ml 250€
Travel Spray 4×7.5ml 210€
Travel Spray Refills 4×7.5ml 115€
Miniature Set 7x10ml 260€

Available as of 13th September at select Louis Vuitton stores and at louisvuitton.com.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
#LVParfums – #louisvuitton

While this isn’t the first time LOUIS VUITTON is releasing small fancy minaudières, you could say that this is their most outstanding and fun piece ever. New for 2018, the Drink-It handbag quenches our desires for pretty little must-have accessories and reveals an innovative soda can form decorated with shimmering Swarovski® crystals.

This futuristic style is made to the House’s high level of craftsmanship with polished metal hardware and luxurious leather trimmings. An elegant lambskin lining and calf leather strap finish the design. No need anymore to carry a Starbucks cup when you can have your own luxe cola to clutch.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

If you’re wondering how to win your football-crazy guy’s heart, here are a bunch of ideas to turn the World Cup 2018 in a romantic love story. Watching him looking all stylish in front of the TV might help the relationship as well! I’ve found cool cufflinks, retro shirts and a vintage football that even you will want to display. And promised there is absolutely no dull coffee table books about lionised managers from bygone eras. Apologies if that’s your thing…

Football cufflinks by Paul Smith

Archive-print football V-neck T-shirt by Versace

Predator 18+ football trainers by Adidas by Pogba

Football-print cotton T-shirt by Vetements (50% 0ff)

Footballs socks by Saks Fifth Avenue Collection

Vintage World Cup ’98 football by Louis Vuitton

LoL, Sandra

Stills: Courtesy of the Brands

Finally there is something that really gets me excited for football. LOUIS VUITTON celebrates the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ with three unique projects of which one has really caught my eye. Gosh, I would love this to be my new living room centerpiece…

The FIFA World CupTM Official Match Ball Collection Trunk is a remarkable
celebration of the shared savoir-faire of Louis Vuitton and adidas’s. The result of this collaboration is an instant collector’s item based on Louis Vuitton’s classic wardrobe trunk. Handmade in the workshops at Asnières, the new trunk is covered in Monogram canvas and has traditional brass corners and lock. Once opened, however, it reveals its surprising contents of 14 footballs: 13 specially made reeditions of all the Official adidas Match Balls used at the FIFA World Cup™ – from the original, iconic Telstar first made in 1970 to this year’s Official Match Ball – each displayed on a shelf made of beech wood and with descriptive tags in Louis Vuitton’s trademark natural cowhide leather.

An additional Louis Vuitton football made in natural cowhide leather will accompany the collection. Only the second football ever made by Louis Vuitton, the ball will also be available to purchase separately.

Since 2010, Louis Vuitton provides a travel case for one of the world’s most sought-after, legendary trophies of the world which will be unveiled when the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy is presented at the opening match and at the final of this year’s tournament. Thanks to intelligent openings at the top and the front of the case, the trophy can be easily accessed when it is presented before the final in Moscow on July 15th.

But this is not enough. Moreover Louis Vuitton launches for the first time a 2018 FIFA World Cup™ official licensed product collection – a new leather good collection inspired by the legendary official match ball of the 1970 FIFA World Cup™, the capsule will showcase unique versions of Keepall and Apollo bags, and a selection of small leather goods.

Made with the House’s iconic Epi leather first introduced in the 1920s, most of the styles will be proposed in 3 colour combinaisons. The hexagon design is created using a three-stage embossing procedure that is both innovative and based upon the House’s historic savoir-faire, allowing each coloured hexagon to have a richly textured feel, reminiscent of classic footballs.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

The Empreinte jewellery range was created in 2004 and features the studs from LOUIS VUITTON’s emblematic travel trunks. Now a signature of this precious jewellery family, studs leave their delicate mark around the motif of the Monogram Flower.

Personally speaking, this Vuitton collection is very similar to CARTIER‘s iconic LOVE collection but to be very honest even even that Cartier has a long history with this design from the ’70s and that they were first, I really really like Louis Vuitton’s approach to it.

Left: Vuitton Empreinte Ring – Right: Cartier Love Ring

First, its seems more special as so many people are wearing the LOVE bracelets and second of all, Vuitton’s arm candy can be opened much easier as you don’t need a screwdriver to open it (makes life at the security checks at the airport so much easier).

Nevertheless, both ranges are just beautiful… I hope that one day somebody puts one on my arm…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton and Cartier

Last weekend, I was in Paris to celebrate my daughter’s birthday with her girlfriends. On Saturday morning, we were very lucky as LOUIS VUITTON opened their Foundation Louis Vuitton exclusively for us so that we had a private tour all alone in the museum (a huge thank you!). I have to say this was one of the best experiences ever as the exhibitions are in general very well visited and crowded. Forget «A Night at the Museum», a day is much better ….

Having the exhibition all to ourselves was amazing…

We explored the Foundation’s new selection from its collection in an exhibition entitled In Tune with the World (AU DIAPASON DU MONDE) that will be open until August 27, 2018. This hanging of modern and contemporary works is presented in all the galleries throughout the stunning building designed by Frank Gehry.

Pretty impressive use of taxidermy, a race horse dangling from the ceiling: Maurizio Cattelan – «La ballata di Trotski» 1996

A sense of irony: Maurizio Cattelan – «Spermini» 1997, 150 latex masks that are self-portraits of the artist.

It invites visitors to reflect upon the place of humankind in the universe and the relationship between people and their environment and the living world. his reflects today’s questions about man’s place in the universe and the bonds that tie him to his surrounding environment and living world, highlighting the interconnections between humans, animals, plants, and even inanimate objects. The exhibition features nearly 30 artists – including Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse, Gerhard Richter, Pierre Huyghe, Yves Klein and Takashi Murakami – in a hanging that brings together modern and contemporary works.

Takashi Murakami aka Gero Tan Noahs Ark 2016

The exhibition spans all the galleries at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, organized in two complementary parts:

• Part A on Level 2 of the building (Galleries 9, 10 and 11) is entirely devoted to the world and works of one of my favorite artists in the world, Japanese born Takashi Murakami. Conceived in collaboration with him, this hanging is organized in three sequences: one centered on the artist’s alter ego DOB; a second is a monumental fresco, The Octopus Eats its Own Leg, displayed for the first time in public; and a third sequence featuring the Kawaii (which means “cute” in Japanese) aesthetic, comprising works in myriad different media.

Takashi Murakami – The Octopus Eats its Own Leg

• Part B is called Man in the Living Universe, featuring 28 French and international artists from different generations and works in a variety of media and techniques. This part stretches throughout the other three levels of the building, as well as the exterior, in the Grotto. Part B also comprises three sequences: Irradiances (Level 1), Here, Infinitely…” (Level 0) and The Man Who Capsizes (Level -1).

Yves Klein painted models in his favorite color and made them roll over the canvas for this masterpiece, «ANT 104, Anthropométrie sans titre», 1960

Giovanni Anselmo – «Entrare nell’Opera», 1971
Art changes people’s awareness of their relationship to the world.

Takashi Murakami

Let me tell you a little more about one of my favourite artists who collaborated with Louis Vuitton for over 13 years (2002-2015).

Some pieces from my own personal Louis Vuitton x Murakami collection.

Since the early 1990s, Takashi Murakami has been crafting a unique world of darkness and wonder, one populated by fantastic characters, marvellous animals, fabulous creatures and mischievous monsters.Blessed with an unbridled imagination and a resolutely innovative language combining ancient techniques and advanced technologies, his important body of work is marked by its multiplicity of forms and media – painting, sculpture, installations and even animated film.

A little kiss for Murakami’s artwork «Max & Shimon».

Drawing on Japan’s political, social and cultural history, his colour-saturated universe borrows as often from Kawaii aesthetics and manga pop as from the ancient masters of classical painting and Buddhist iconography. Also omnipresent are references to recent traumatic events, such as the atomic bomb and the tsunami.

Takashi Murakami Flower Ball – one of my favorite art works.

The exhibition In Tune with the World is accompanied by a series of conversations with artists and experts.

Location:
8, avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, 75116 Paris.
Exhibition until 27th August 2018
Reservations: on the website www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr.

LoL, Sandra

Portrait Takashi Murakami: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
All other photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

The «Louis Vuitton New Wave» collection heralds a new attitude, taking inspiration from the musical genre of the same name to revisit the joyful, colourful spirit of the Eighties in an unexpected way.

This collection is rooted in the art of travel that sealed the House’s reputation as soon as 
it was founded in 1854. In particular, one trunk was decorated with a graphic, multicoloured motif that undulated like a wave. From this historical detail comes the subtle quilted design of the «Louis Vuitton New Wave» line. To make these bags the ideal everyday companion, like a favorite leather jacket you never leave home without, the house chose to create each style in exceptionally soft, supple lambskin.

Available in store starting July 7th.
Freesia and Emerald colours available starting September.

I am so in love with the embellished or denim version. One of those will definitely be on my shopping list!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton