Classic handbags get an iconoclastic makeover

The French luxury house Louis Vuitton has a reputation for creating must-have bags via its collaborations with famous artists from around the world – cherries from Takashi Murakami; dots from Kusama and the original blockbuster, the Multicolour monogram from Murakami have all made a name for the brand and become “it” bags.



Now the brand has gone one better, well actually six better, and collaborated with six creative individuals who are known for doing their own thing, these “iconoclasts” have taken the LV icon, the brand’s famous Monogram print in its distinctive brown and gold, and created their very own, very conceptual bags – which we can actually buy!



CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN



Famous for his shoes, Christian Louboutin naturally enough included his iconic colour, red, in his pieces for Louis Vuitton. He felt that he wanted to contribute something that was “unmistakably Parisian” and came up with the caddy – basically the wheeled, pull-along shopping trolley. Apparently they’re everywhere in Paris says Louboutin: “The bag is totally attached to the sight of somebody shopping in the markets of Paris – I once tried to count the numbers of caddies I met in two hours at a Parisian market: 109!” Alongside this amazing – and amazingly expensive – caddy, Louboutin also created two lovely, classically shaped handbags which are much more reasonably priced and easier to use every day.

CINDY SHERMAN


Cindy Sherman has always wanted a Louis Vuitton trunk apparently, so she created her dream version in colours based on her pet parrot and compartments with handwritten labels for things like fake eyeballs and fake teeth. Then to continue the fantasy she added old looking labels to the exterior using her own artwork for the stickers. The useable version is based on a camera bag or messenger bag … much easier for the ordinary person to tote around.

FRANK GEHRY


An architect famous for weird and unusual shapes, Frank Gehry simply thought he’d try to make his own version of a handbag, and was surprised when Louis Vuitton loved it. Although the shape is odd, he worked with the brand to make sure that it could actually be used: “I spent time with Louis Vuitton to talk about the refinement of details, the clasp, the whole of it.” Although this neat little bag looks a bit odd, it’s actually very practical.

KARL LAGERFELD

Kaiser Karl came up with a number of ideas apparently but all of them were boxing related. As to why, well, he quoted Voltaire: “‘Everything that needs an explanation, isn’t worth the explanation.’ So what can I explain?” Yes, well. Anyway … if you want to punch something that’s worth thousands and thousands of dollars you can snap up a Karl Lagerfeld for Louis Vuitton boxing bags; with matching travel trunk, of course. A bit easier on the wallet are the cute little bucket bags that he created to go with it.

MARC NEWSON

Known for his elegant yet practical industrial design, it was obvious that Marc Newson would think about creating something useable for his piece for Louis Vuitton. “I design things that fundamentally I would like to own,” he explains. This time I ultimately thought of the typology myself: a backpack. I wanted to concentrate all of the features that I love and try and put them into the piece.” His backpack is practically perfect when it comes to the blend of practicallity and fashion; it not only looks amazing but it really does its job too … and it comes in three cool colours.

REI KAWAKUBO

The creative brain behind Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo was bound to do something different. Instead of going all crazy and creating something never seen before, the designer “broke” the tradition of a Louis Vuitton tote by adding holes (there’s an interior liner though so all your stuff is safe). “When designing the bag for this project, I was looking for some new design, something that hadn’t been done before, something within the limits of possibility,” Kawakubo explains. In many way this most conceptual of bags is actually the most useable … a great mix of art and design.
resource: http://goo.gl/C4uyqO

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