The Bite Magazine - Summer 2012 - Issue 5

Images courtesy of Rizzoli NewYork and LVMH highly successful clothing line for the com- pany and took the house into a new era with a series of collaborations with artists and designers - such as Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, and Stephen Sprouse. Af- ter all, who can forget the dangling cher- ries, battered denim, neon graffiti, fine fur and high-gloss varnish that have adorned the brand’s classic mono- grammed canvas bags? For his first Louis Vuitton show in March 1998, Jacobs pre- sented a single LV monogram bag to accessorise an entire minimalist collection. “I made a conscious decision not to do what the fashion com- munity expected,’’ Jacobs explains. “I mean, a lot of people came up to me after the show and said, “There were no bags on the runway!” Silly thing to say.We were sup- posed to be having a fashion show – it wasn’t a luggage car- ousel!” The second floor presents a selection of Jacobs’ most emblem- atic designs. A video wall display gives visitors an insight into the mind of the creative genius. Photographs and film extracts selected by Jacobs, features Barbra Streisand, Leigh Bow- ery, SpongeBob and SquarePants, Elizabeth Taylor and David Bowie. Jacobs also credits those designers who have most influenced his work with portraits bite bookreviews of Miuccia Prada, Christian Dior, Karl Lager- feld and Comme des Garçons founder, Rei Kawakubo. The installation includes a peep show room, which has videos from each of the Vuitton fashion shows. Amongst these are the memorable line up of ‘nurses,’ includ- ing Naomi Campbell, Natalia Vodianova and Stephanie Seymour, that announced Jacobs’ collaboration with the artist Richard Prince; Kate Moss on the catwalk in Vuitton fetish- wear and a procession of models in candy colour shirt waisters to introduce the bags designed by Takashi Mu- rakami. “When he (Jacobs) came to us, we were living accord- ing to the long-term rhythms and very deeply rooted codes: a mono- g r a m i n v e n t e d in 1896 a n d products dat- ing from the end of the nineteenth century,” Yves Carcelle, CEO of Louis Vuitton says.“He brought in a breath of fresh air. H e integrated himself without losing himself. To- day, we make up the oldest couple in the industry.” The Louis Vuitton/Marc Jacobs Exhibi- tion is at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris un- til September 16; the book Louis Vuitton/ Marc Jacobs edited by Pamela Golbin, the Curator-in-Chief of the exhibition, is pub- lished by Rizzoli at £47.50. A limited edition available exclusively at Louis Vuitton stores features mirror paper and silk-screened portraits of Jacobs andVuitton on the cover. www.rizzoliusa.com