Louis Vuitton Fall / Winter 2017

PARIS — The Louvre is open every day except Tuesday. This 24-hour gap in museum operations provided planners at this institution an opportunity to extend an invitation to Louis Vuitton to stage its women’s Fall / Winter 2017 runway show. A night at the museum it then proved to be with the extraordinary talents of Nicolas Ghesquière providing wonderment inside Cour Marly, the statuary courtyard with works commissioned by Louis XIV toward the end of his reign in the early 18th century. Ghesquière as ever did not disappoint. During the lead up to the show the luxury label used its Instagram and other social media channels to whet appetites for the collection, which when finally revealed was about erasing frontiers and redefining boundaries. This idea found resonance in a current political climate in Europe and North America where immigration and human rights have come to the fore. “I think fashion has always broken those frontiers. Especially in Paris—it’s the land of foreign designers; it’s so multicultural,” said Ghesquière speaking to Vogue. “Being in the Louvre where everyone is welcome, where there is no limit of culture, of nationality, is a strong message.” The message was delivered by a strong cast of models, five of which walked for Next including Tessa Bruinsma, Julie Hoomans, Danielle Lashley, Selena Forrest, and Daphné Simons. Of the five, Danielle was the Louis Vuitton exclusive. All told, there could have been no finer way to end what proved an epic Fall 2017 wome