After Monaco, the Bob & Dolores Hope estate in Palm Springs, the Mac Niteroi in Brazil and the Miho Museum in Japan, Louis Vuitton continued its architectural journey at the Fondation Marguerite and Aimé Maeght for LV Women Cruise 2019.
Fondation Maeght in southeast France, a private contemporary art museum set atop a hill that’s known for its rich and diverse bounty of works by some of the 20th century’s most important artists such as Joan Miro, Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque, Alexander Calder and many others.
Amidst the verdant brush of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the Fondation Maeght’s exceptional gardens became a winding runway where models marched around works by Joan Miró and Alberto Giacometti. For this Cruise 2019 collection, Nicolas Ghesquière’s vision was noticeably eclectic, evoking modern art’s disruptive originality, while remaining free of any deliberate homage.
Well-defined volumes were rendered with fluidity, as declarative shoulders and rounded sleeves were pitched against shorter lengths, lingerie-inspired sensuality, and artisanal surface detail. Colors were arranged judiciously or delivered with bursts of expression; floral and graphic motifs made their impact in layers that created dynamic dimension around the body.
Further enhanced by a conceptual performance from Woodkid, who sourced rare acoustic instruments and overlaid the voice of Jennifer Connelly, the show played out with charismatic flourish.
Ghesquière shared his personal connection by saying,”I’ve known this place for twenty-five years and I love coming here regularly. It has a beautiful family history, a particular story about passionate gallerists who, along with all the artists for whom they were both friends and patrons, invented an extraordinary place for artistic dialogue.”
