Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2023 aroused some of the same Arabian moods prominent from Nicolas Ghesquière’s Fall RTW collection in Paris in March, but had so much more to ply, especially in the early stretch.
And what a stretch! A cold, blustery, and interminably long section of Jamsugyo Bridge in Seoul.
The opening musical salvo, like a siren, prepped the models for a literal 200-meter march. Other models followed ten paces back from the first’s booted steps, forming a procession that only revealed the next (due to camera limitations) once the preceding one had gone.
They looked like Fortnite avatars, or protesters – not NG’s intention.
But the concrete/urban locale and the music – Korean, French, some DJ Shadow elucidated the proposed idea of Vuitton getting back in touch with the street.
Ghesquière pulled digitalization and hybridization into the mix with cultural references like ’95 era hip hop and mod cheques too. Padlocked belts and space program foil hinted at a war. Maybe the future abyss/marriage with AI.
It wasn’t completely revolutionary – There are those LV handbags still doing the rounds and lots of people saying how LV had missed or hit whatever mark.
But creatives should take heart and – short of being able to retire early or lose their jobs to a robot – embrace future potential . Others will buy and others will hate.