© Morgan Art Foundation. Licensed by Artestar, New York.
For their newest collection of bags, Longchamp adapts the creative pop and hopeful messaging of the late artist’s work
In bright colors and bold forms, Longchamp integrates the work of late Robert Indiana into its newest collection of bags. Inspired by the American artist’s evocation of love, the collection incorporates his design language and elements of his art. Robert Indiana is famously known for his use of the “LOVE” motif in its playfully stacked lettering. Beginning in 1964 as frottage style sketches, the emblem has transcended its original format and has become synonymous with Indiana’s name.
Indiana’s emblem now finds itself on one of the staples of Longchamp’s series of bags, the Le Pliage. “Love is universal, a positive message that is understood all over the world, and I liked the idea of reproducing this message on Le Pliage, a universally beloved bag,” says Longchamp’s Creative Director Sophie Delafontaine, discussing the ethos of the collaboration.
Apart from its messaging, the collection’s theme is a tribute to Indiana’s impact as an artist throughout the twentieth century. The bags interact with different aspects of the artist’s work, with facets of hard-edge painting and pop art apparent in its design. The capsule collection interlays the “LOVE” image across the Le Pliage’s surface, featuring details that adapt his original art.
Alongside the Le Pliage travel bag, the collaboration also focuses on showcasing Indiana’s work through the release of a shoulder bag, pouch, and two new iterations of the Le Pliage with a tote and a cross-body bag. Each piece in the collection is decorated in nimble, cowhide leather, and an inner lined with smooth canvas.
The collection paints each bag in three colorways: a contrasting red and blue, complimentary blue and greens, and brooding shades of black and dark red. Indiana’s emblem also appears as a leather keychain, and embossed on cotton shirts, sweats, and silk scarfs, to be released in limited quantities.
Longchamp is available in Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La, Rustan’s Cebu, and Greenbelt 5. Also available online at Rustans.com and Trunc.ph
