Decoding The Nicolas Ghesquière Louis Vuitton Era

In today's video I look back at some of Nicolas Ghesquire's collections at Louis Vuitton as he celebrates 10 years of collections designs at the brand. An editor turned up at Nicolas Ghesquière’s 10th anniversary Louis Vuitton show in Paris wearing a full look from his fall 2014 debut—the only thing missing was the Petite Malle mini-trunk bag he launched that season. “It still works,” she said of her outfit, “it doesn’t look dated.” A group of women had gathered around her marveling. The A-line leather jacket, round-collar blouse and sweater vest, and black patent pants were instantly recognizable in a way not many other designers can claim. But then, few designers working at Europe’s top brands now were in their jobs 10 years ago. Amidst the churn of creative directors today, a decade is some kind of record. At that first show in March 2014, Ghesquière left a typewritten note for all of his guests. Back then he wrote about the “immense joy” of a fresh start. Tonight in a similar letter placed on all 4,000-or-so seats—a huge crowd that included many of the company’s employees—he said, “this joy is still here. Ten years later, this evening is a new dawn.” The synchronicity of the two messages was not unintentional. Ghesquière was definitely looking back at key pieces from his Vuitton oeuvre. As strong as his design language is, the references were easy enough to spot, even if his reinterpretations were far from line-for-line. The jackets heavily embroidered with metallic th