Vuitton & Koons
In 2017 the luxury French house, Louis Vuitton, collaborated with American sculptor Jeff Koons, for a collection inspired Koons’s Gazing Ball series. The collection consisted of 51 outstanding pieces, and although the bags were the undoubtable stars, the collection also included scarves, laptop sleeves and small leather goods.
The collection was inspired by Koons’s 2015 ‘Gazing Ball’ series, which featured 35 large scale reproductions of iconic old masters paintings, each presented to the gallery crowds with a deep blue mirrored sphere attached on a cleverly concealed shelf. These deep blue spheres reflects both the painting and the room, allowing the crowds to see themselves in the paintings and become a part of some of the most exemplary works of art in history. For this collaboration however, Koons has swapped gallery walls for leather goods, a selection of Louis Vuitton’s most popular bags to be more specific. The Neverfull, Speedy and the Keepall all became canvases for Koons’s next big [project] The bags were covered in hand painted classic Old Master paintings, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Titian’s Mars, Venus and Cupid, Fragonard’s Girl with a Dog, Van Gogh’s Wheat Fields and Cypresses, and Rubens’ Tiger hunt all made incredibly detailed appearances. The artist’s name were emblazoned across the bags in bold silver or gold lettering. Along the bottom of the bag Jeff Koons’s initials sat opposite the Louis Vuitton monogram logo in the exact same style. Allowing the iconic monogram to be used for anything other than the ‘LV’ was something the brand had never done before. The leather loop around the handle that normally holds a padlock or identification tag has been replaced with the infamous Koons balloon rabbit.
The collaboration came about through Delphine Arnault, the daughter of CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault. Koons has known the Arnault family for almost two decades, since they began collecting his work. “I thought maybe they wanted me to do a watch,” Mr. Koons said. “But then they asked about working on the bags, and I thought it could be wonderful.”
As an artist, Koons has been vocal about his wish to eradicate the elitism that runs through the art world. “I hope people understand my ideas,” Mr. Koons said. “I hope they embrace them as a continuation of my effort to erase the hierarchy attached to fine art and old masters.” Not only is the collaboration a way for Koons to convey his his message, it was also a way for consumers who may know little about the old masters paintings to learn something. Inside each bag was a little booklet containing a description of the artist. At a time when contemporary art sold for a lot higher than classical art at auction, it’s no surprise that the museums who supplied Koons with high quality images of the paintings were quick to show their full support. Jean-Luc Martinez, the director of the Louvre, was on board very quickly. “I totally agree with this project,” he said. His colleagues felt the same way, they understood that in order for classical art to have somewhat of a renaissance it needed to be seen qand it needed to be shown to the younger generation in a cool, new way.
Whilst chief executive of Louis Vuitton, Michael Burke was enthralled by the idea he was aware that others may not share his excitement. “I think we’re going to get some pushback,” Burke said. “People are going to be upset about the sacred entering the realm of the profane. But we like to do things that can be perceived as politically incorrect. If we are getting flak, we think we are doing something right.” Art and fashion have long shared a rocky relationship, the elitism that exists in the art world, that Jeff Koons is so vexed by, has often made it difficult for fashion to be taken seriously as an art form. Louis Vuitton, however, is no stranger to artistic collaborations neither the criticism that often follows when the two worlds collide. Previously the French fashion house has collaborated with Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama and Stephen Sprouse during Marc Jacob’s tenure as creative director and in the 90s the brand underwrote several major exhibitions that caused uproar amongst the art crowd.
It is not Koons’s first flirtation with fashion either, the eclectic artist has produced limited edition collections with Stella McCartney and H&M in the past. Although this is the first time a brand has allotted him so much creative freedom and allowed him to create a completely original design.
The collaboration was wildly successful and Louis Vuitton went onto to commission a second collaboration with Jeff Koons which was received just as well.
Feature Image – Marieclaire.com