Through Jacobs' Eyes

Handbags and modern art may not always go hand in hand but for Louis Vuitton’s Marc Jacobs, excitement always lies in the road less travelled.

NINE years ago, a certain Marc Jacobs was asked to be the creative boss of Louis Vuitton. He of the boyish charm and hair ever so casually mussed up. He wears clothes an average man would: T-shirts, sweaters, crisp white shirts.

Designers who shout rebellion play with stark looks or riotous colours. Think Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons and you get the picture. So you’d be forgiven — just by looking at Jacobs — if you thought him a conformist.

But consider this. A few years before Jacobs joined the French fashion house, he designed a grunge collection for Perry Ellis. The clothes were loathed (before they were loved, much later). Jacobs lost his job.

So... conventional? Hardly.

Jacobs is a lover of all things modern. Brazenly, he pairs loud modernism with Vuitton’s super-conventional, super classic print — the monogram.

He embossed the monogram on patent leather and weaved it on denim and satin.

The result could be a little shocking. But as you see these creations more frequently, you will slowly understand this notion of beauty — of old and new, convention and rebellion —that he tries to project.

He collaborated with Stephen Sprouse for the graffiti bags. Prim Vuitton users were appalled when paint-brush graffiti was sprawled across the bags. But youngsters were intrigued. Suddenly the traditional Louis Vuitton didn’t appear so old.

With Japanese artist Takashi Murakami came the vibrant prints with little eyes — or at least that’s what they look like — interspersed on multicolour monogram. And then the graphic cherry blossoms with yellow smileys in the centre.

And what about those little cherries in the Cerises collection that seem to have comical expressions?

By now the world has seen beauty through Jacobs’ eyes. And Louis Vuitton bags, while always classic, suddenly packed a little more attitude.

This year, Louis Vuitton takes the pairing of carriers and modern art to another level with the Icons exhibition at Espace Louis Vuitton in Paris. (I know we all cannot afford to fly to Europe for the show, so I’m “bringing” the exhibits to you.)

Here’s how it evolved. Nine “artists” were chosen by Louis Vuitton for the show, among them architects, artists and designers. Each was given the liberty to interpret the house’s nine iconic bags. (See sidebar)

Among those involved are Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid, the only woman who has won the Pritzker Prize (the architecture world’s Nobel counterpart, if you like) in 2004.

She is known for “intertwining supple forms and taut lines, acute angles and superposed planes”.

True to her daring approach, Zaha created several versions of a futuristic Bucket bag — twisted and deformed, rounded and sharp, that she grouped together in an archipelago.

Reminiscent of Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory” (the one with melting clocks), Zaha’s re-imagination of the Bucket is like a white rounded vase, adorned with different facets of the monogram.

Another architect, Tokyo-based Shigeru Ban, is famous for his paper tube structures which allow him to escape technical constraints and structural tensions in favour of dynamic spaces.

Unsurprisingly, his take on the Papillon had him covering his paper tubes with monogram canvas.

Imagine 10 Papillons arranged vertically on their sides to make a pillar and maybe 15 more to form what looks like a bicycle tyre.

All this takes place at the Espace Louis Vuitton, a rotunda under which visitors can enjoy a bird’s eye view of Paris in its autumn shades.

Artist Bruno Peinado, meanwhile, is inspired by record sleeves, video games and comics.

He said there’s a pop dimension to his work because he reuses images found in magazines.

For his reinterpretation of Speedy, Louis Vuitton’s quintessential city bag, he decided to present forms cut with water jet from aluminium in white, black and green. The whole display evokes the myth of great journeys.

If there is such a thing as a literal reintrepretation among the exhibits, it has to come from artist Sylvie Fleury.

Known for her connection between art and society, Fleury takes certain “highly symbolic products” and reproduce them in sculpture form, mainly in chrome-finish bronze.

So she remade the Keepall, Louis Vuitton’s soft luggage. Under her hands, the cabin bag has embossed monogram in patent leather. The colour? Chrome-finish bronze.

You can almost see the bold stares of your fellow passengers at the departure hall as you walk by with your shiny bag. You don’t care. That attitude Louis Vuitton gives its bags? It has has rubbed off on you.

Source: nst.com.my