FOCUSED ON ITS LOCATION OVER A NEW-BUILD SET, LOUIS VUITTON'S AW22 SHOW LEAVES A MINIMAL FOOTPRINT
Photo Romain Laprade, Giovanni Giannoni
22 mar 2022, for frame
Location
Musee D'Orsay, 75007 Paris, France
Design, Production
Brand
Music
Koudlam
The first fashion show to be held at the Musée d'Orsay, Louis Vuitton’s AW22 presentation emphasized the novelty of the location.
Key features
Situated in the Musée d'Orsay’s central hall and Courbet Gallery, the show explored formative adolescent years, taking inspiration from youth culture in art. While many other Paris cultural institutions routinely host fashion shows, the Louis Vuitton event marked the first time for the prestigious museum. To celebrate the occasion, Nicolas Ghesquière's collection was showcased against the museum's works of art without extra ornamentation: the only addition to the interior setting were Gebrüder Thonet Vienna’s classic woven-cane Wiener Stuhls. The chairs date to the early 1900s, born around the same time the Musée d'Orsay was inaugurated as a railway station. The livestream for the AW22 kicked off by capturing the now-museum’s famous giant clock, while the runway took advantage of the space’ existing layout to determine the models’ journey.
Frame’s take
Louis Vuitton’s collection is dedicated to youth and the desire to distinguish oneself through style. Ghesquière reimagined quintessential music posters decorating teenage bedrooms with the help of David Sims' photography from the 1990s. Transformed into walking posters, the models both contrasted and completed the unique museum’s collection, providing a diverse and more complete perspective of art in its many forms. Just as Y/Project’s most recent set was an unmodified distribution warehouse, Louis Vuitton’s AW22 scenography was straightoward: the carefully selected show venue established the spatial direction, a sustainable, strategical approach. In choosing one of Nicolas Ghesquière's favorite places in Paris, Louis Vuitton avoided a high-cost production, something so commonplace for luxury fashion brands on its level.