Nicholas Ghesquière has always been a class apart from the rest. His transformative silhouettes during his tenture at Balenciaga and his observant sense of futurism at Louis Vuitton has earned him a firm reputation as one of the best designers today.
For spring/summer 17, the designer meshed his love of futurism with a sense of athleisure – what’s that you say? Think loose-cut olive green trousers with gilded gold piping and electric blue bomber jackets paired with two-piece lace suits and leather separates.
Athleisure – but not in its traditionally muted versions – boasts an undercurrent of discovery as well. It was almost as if Ghesquière himself was peeling back the layers of monogrammed canvas to uncover new depths and codes to the house while simultaneously injecting a sense of renewal. Micro-pleating on the back of a leather bodice and neon tones of a print that merged between python and lace are examples of this vision.
But, let’s not forget that Louis Vuitton is first and foremost a luxury luggage company, priding itself on the production of exceptional accessories for both travel and daily wear. A fact that Ghesquière explores and dissects further through slimmer proportions of the now headily famous Petite Maille bag from autumn/winter 14, except this time around they appeared in exotic shades of purple and electric blue, which ran through the collection accented only by statement gold jewellery. Some might question that Ghesquière’s aesthetic borders on youthful, but a closer observation goes to show that a variety of pieces such as deconstructed suit jackets in grey, as well as metallic tops, seem to ask the viewer one very important question. Does age even matter anymore?
