What happens when one of the most high-end fashion brands collaborates with the master of contemporary art? You get a series of leather handbags and accessories, inspired by the greatest old masters of all time. That is why Louis Vuitton and the American Artist Jeff Koons are a real match made in heaven. They decided to put their heads together and design a fabulous new line inspired by famous artwork from the past. Read all about this crazy adventure.
Louis Vuitton Collaborations
The French fashion house loves working with artists and creating pieces that are on the edge of fashion as well as art. In the past, Louis Vuitton invited artists such as Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusama and Jake and Dinos Chapman to create unique and limited edition bags. And this time it was Jeff Koons who had the honour to let his imagination run wild and design the new handbag series for Louis Vuitton.
Source: louisvuitton.com
Updating the Old Masters
Each of the bags designed by Koons shows a print of a worldwide famous painting. Some of the bags show very obvious choices with famous art icons such as the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s wheat fields., but Koons chose for designs with more classical paintings as well. The bags have prints with works by Fragonard, Titian, Rubens and other old masters. These works might not be considered very fashionable today, but still hold a tremendous artistic value. Catchy Pop art images would have been a much more obvious choice than more traditional styles such as Renaissance and Rococo. Using these Old Masters as inspiration for the bags though is perfectly fitting with Koons' goal to make art accessible to everyone and engage more people in art.
Source Image: louisvuitton.com
Old & New
Koons knows how to update the old masterpieces in an ingenious way. The paintings are printed on the fabric, the name of the artist shown in bold golden letters, the LV logo is made out of gold, and the bags all have brightly coloured accents, such as the handles and sides. The bags are little art pieces themselves, effortlessly mixing contemporary culture and traditional art. The bag also comes with a rabbit charm attached to the handle, which is a signature design of Koon. The rabbit gives the bags a nice pop art feel to it.
Source: louisvuitton.com
Koons and Louis Vuitton have managed to give the signature handbag a brand new look, turning the old masters into fashion icons. The collection consists of 51 pieces. Bags created by artists for Louis Vuitton are often sold on Catawiki. Check out the Exclusive Bag Auction to find the exclusive piece you have been looking for!