Travelling companions: Louis Vuitton exhibit lands in Sydney
A new exhibition traces the intimate relationship between Louis Vuitton’s iconic trunks and its evolution as a fashion house.
Louis Vuitton launched its first ready-to-wear fashion collection in 1997, under the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs, 143 years after the founding of the company in 1854. It started out in Paris as a trunk maker, and its connection to fashion actually dates from its very beginning. By the mid-19th century, women’s outfits had become increasingly voluminous and imposing.
The crinoline cage, invented in 1850, was able to support huge volumes of lace and fabric. Understandably, it became more necessary than ever for women to seek out the services of a trunk maker to pack such clothes for their travels on steamships.
The brand’s original connection to fashion is highlighted in a new exhibition, See LV, coming to Sydney this month. The city will be the fifth stop for the exhibition after Wuhan, Hangzhou, Dubai and Tokyo. See LV mixes archival objects from Louis Vuitton’s heritage collection with more recent creations from the company as well as its collaborators, such as Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquière, the late Virgil Abloh, Kim Jones, Stephen Sprouse, Yoyoi Kasama and Takashi Murakami, among others.
The exhibition is divided into five “universes”, each designed to provide visitors with a deep dive into the world of Louis Vuitton and its namesake founder. The first room includes a specially commissioned portrait of a young Louis Vuitton by the Turkish digital artist Refik Anadol, created using artificial intelligence. In the artwork Louis appears slowly from one million images of the Jura region of France, where he was born.
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The next room features a reverse chronological selection of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear pieces, with looks from each of the brand’s artistic directors. A 19th-century archival gown is placed next to a trunk from 1906 to illustrate the house’s longstanding relationship with fashion. An entire space is dedicated to exploring Louis Vuitton’s major contributions to the invention of luggage and its connection to travel.
This section of the exhibition includes a selection of some of the brand’s most iconic trunks, such as the wardrobe trunk, automobile trunks from the 1920s, and a skateboard trunk designed in collaboration with the artist Stephen Sprouse in 2009. The trunks reflect the way transport has evolved from steamer ships to cars to plane travel and beyond. Also on display is a unique transformable raincoat tent from Virgil Abloh’s futuristic 2054 collection, unveiled in 2020, that folds back into its case when not being used as a tent.
Louis Vuitton has been making handbags and small leathergoods for almost as long as it has been making trunks, and some of its most famous bag designs are also on display in the exhibition. The brand’s well known Speedy bag, for example, was designed in 1930 and is still in production – and just as popular – today.
The exhibition is designed to provide immersive understanding of the world of Louis Vuitton rather than as a retail experience. That said, no exhibition is complete without a gift shop. The one at See LV will focus on the brand’s catalogue of more than 100 books, including travel guides.
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