Photo courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
In celebration of their collaboration’s 20th anniversary, Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton unveil the first chapter of its 170-piece Re-Edition Collection
Throughout his career, veteran contemporary artist Takashi Murakami never truly let go of his whimsical approach to his creative process. Even after earning a degree in traditional Japanese painting, the young artist went on to recontextualize the method’s flattened composition by blending it with modern pop culture’s playful yet similar adaptations, eventually pioneering the “Superflat” artistic movement.
“Back in the early 2000s, I told Louis Vuitton that I wanted to bring their world to children in order to expand the market,” Murakami recalls during his interview with Vogue. With his return to the French fashion house, the 20th-anniversary re-edition of his initial 2003 collaboration is divided into two chapters.
Launched in January 1st, the first chapter took to render the artist’s colorful adaptation of its signature monogram pattern alongside his Superflat Panda and Superflat Garden motifs across 170 of its in-house creations.
Just as they were seen on the likes of fashion model Naomi Campbell and Lindsay Lohan in the early 2000s, heritage carryalls such as the Speedy 25 and Dauphine soft bags retain their initial form while adopting the details of its modern contemporaries.
From flattened and embossed studs to gold-toned chains and leather bows, both bags now join its newer Capucines and Dog Bag models in taking on the Monogram Multicolore’s kaleidoscopic palette on either white or black backgrounds, utilizing the Maison’s laser-printing method to accurately apply the monogram’s 33 distinct hues. Dance and lifestyle creator Niana Guerrero was also seen sporting the collection’s Nano Speedy bag for an evening stroll through the city.
Among the artist’s gallery of characters, Murakami’s Superflat Panda sees its bulbous design complement the OnTheGo PM Chain and Pochette bags’ more structured and cornered edges, with certain variations such as the Capucines BB even enlarging the panda to overlap its leather-bound base.
Be it on washed blue or pastel pink backgrounds, the character is also seen featured on a range of leather goods that also adopt a renewed look compared to its predecessors from two decades past. With travel companions such as the Keepall Bandoulière 45 opting for an embossed and monochromatic monogram, accessories such as the now-horizontal cardholder leaving a sliver of vibrant pink peek out to a full-length skateboard draped in the Louis Vuitton leather.
Alongside its ursid counterpart, the Superflat Garden also sees Murakami’s enduring smiling flower motif along the collection’s ensemble of handbags like the Neverfull MM and Petite Malle as well as silk squares which were also formally seen on the Maison’s now-creative director for menswear Pharrell Williams.
However, the collection emphasizes the iconography’s wrap-around design along the Attrape-Rêves eau de parfum bottle, which features a base note of patchouli complimented by the ironically contrasting notes of peonies and cacao as well as ginger and bergamot.
The Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Re-Edition serves as a celebration of both the Maison’s timeless design and the nostalgic nature of the Japanese contemporary artist’s iconography. With its second chapter releasing this March, the collection continues to reintroduce the works of Murakami by featuring the pastel pink hues of cherry blossoms, aptly timed for the spring season.
To see the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami 20th Anniversary Collection’s First Chapter, visit the Louis Vuitton flagship store in Greenbelt 3, Makati City
