Louis Vuitton: medieval techno mode

The house of Louis Vuitton built its early reputation on trunks, and they were the basis of an exciting, maximalist spectacle inside a courtyard of the Louvre, the last official show of Paris Fashion Week.

In a powerful display, Vuitton brought down the curtain on the four-week international women's ready-to-wear season that officially began in the United States with a Ralph Lauren show at a horse farm in the Hamptons.

Guests arriving at LV discovered a runway that was a mosaic of trunks, suitcases and briefcases made into three enormous sections, which suddenly rose five feet, even as the first brave model walked down the runway.

Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière opened with a grand series of gold and striped doublets, worn alone with T-shirts or nightgowns, and paired with extreme sports leggings; all anchored in futuristic clogs and running shoes, or weird and wonderful new leather ankle boots.

She mixed faux chain mail, an oversized sweatshirt, layered tulle miniskirts, and studded pants with dangling necklaces. It should have been a complete disaster, but it looked great. The technical mesh dresses with abstract big cat prints, studded in semicircles, were quite notable, as was her new one-leg dress, that is, a stiff A-line leather cocktail worn over silk one-piece pants. leg. All perfect counterpoints to monogrammed bags, patent leather totes or the latest quilted LV zipper bag.

Ghesquière certainly likes to experiment, bringing together eras, eras and emotions; almost challenging any other designer to achieve greater impact. Fashion is, of course, an industry in which ego is essential and the desire to hold the biggest show of the season is highly sought after.

Chanel controls the Grand Palais and even has a long-term agreement with the iconic showroom. Vuitton, more or less, from a fashion point of view, owns the Louvre. While Vuitton's cousin within luxury superpower LVMH, Dior, has lately favored the Rodin Museum across the Seine.

See catwalk

The location chosen by Vuitton in the Louvre complex is the Cour Carrée, or Square Courtyard, to install giant sets, such as this season's giant black box, an elevated catwalk worthy of David Copperfield.

But where Chanel, and indeed Dior, or Ralph Lauren, sell their fashion collections to tens of thousands of avid fans; Vuitton sells for thousands. Sometimes one thinks in hundreds, considering how relatively difficult it is to find Vuitton women's fashion in large international department stores. Unlike his recent menswear from both Virgil Abloh and Pharrell Williams.

That said, Ghesquière is a true fashion scientist: he conjures up unlikely fabric blends, Merlin-like visual parts, and historic combinations. So, although you didn't actually see that many people, you have to appreciate that Nicolas is a visionary who predicts a brave new world. Quite an achievement in itself.