Two seasons into his stint as the Creative Director of Louis Vuitton, The Wall Street Journal has published a feature on Nicolas Ghesquière, titled Nicolas Ghesquière Innovates at the Legendary House of Louis Vuitton. Focusing largely on how he has fared at Louis Vuitton after a very successful run at the helm of Balenciaga, the article emphasises Ghesquière’s persona as a design maverick, noting in particular how his flair for the avant-garde is already breathing new life into Louis Vuitton, and how even working with fashion’s most legendary house is unlikely to faze him.

As far as fashion features go, this is a fairly straightforward piece. Other than presenting how Ghesquière has settled in at Louis Vuitton after the excitement of his appointment, there are also points of comparison that can now be made between his work for Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga, which help in the assessment of his vision and oeuvre as a designer. It is definitely interesting to see whether Ghesquière can produce a similarly compelling and directional vision for Louis Vuitton in the way he did for Balenciaga, given that his futuristic aesthetic is so different from Louis Vuitton’s brazenly luxurious and lady-like heritage, established with great showmanship and theatricality by his predecessor Marc Jacobs.

So far, Ghesquière’s creation of a retro girlish sensibility is an early sign that he is taking the Louis Vuitton woman in a very different direction. In a way, his appointment mirrors that of Raf Simons’ at Dior, where a minimalist sensibility has been paired with a resolutely feminine one. The fashion industry loves a good contradiction, after all. However, while applying a fresh twist to traditional luxury houses keeps things interesting for jaded fashion watchers eager to view the results of such cross-pollination attempts, it nonetheless adheres to the tried-and-tested formula of combining a big-name designer to an established fashion house. Of course, there are enormous economic interests at stake and Ghesquière’s tenure at Louis Vuitton should prove interesting for long-time admirers of his work, but what I’m really looking forward to is when he sets up his own label, which he claims he eventually will in the article. When he is divested of the pressures and resources of a big fashion house while armed with an aesthetic that has been honed over time to cater to a global commercial market, how would he navigate that unique circumstance while expressing a singular vision? That is the Ghesquière I am curious to see.

Image Credit:
Photograph of Nicolas Ghesquière by Jamie Hawkesworth from The Wall Street Journal