Louis Vuitton celebrates its resort collection in Rio
The resort shows are now, unofficially, the occasion to take the fashion pack to exotic, far-flung locations - take Chanel, who hit Havana with a full-on Cuban fiesta last week, or Dior, who will take over, well, Blenheim, later today.
Essentially it’s a chance for the designers to take us beyond the big four cities and show us what’s inspiring them around the world. And so, with just three months to go until the Olympics kicks off, Louis Vuitton chose to celebrate in Rio, as designer Nicolas Ghesquière staged something of a pre-party and showed us his sportswear-inspired cruise 2017 collection. Here’s what you need to know…
The clothes were pretty athletic Did a certain impending sporting event inspire the collection? Um, just a little bit. From the monogrammed basketball shorts to the scuba fabric skater dresses, Olympic fever has clearly hit early at LV HQ, but has been given a frilly spin in Nicolas’ succession of spliced hem dresses. Ipanema’s colourful street scenes and deconstructed flags inspired Nicolas’ abstract block prints, while in other cases he went literal, embroidering scrawling illustrations of football icon Pele across his fit ‘n flare minis.
The front row was packed with the label’s famous fans There were the young Insta muses - Alicia Vikander, Zendaya, and Jaden Smith - alongside the life-long Vuitton devotees (hello Catherine Deneuve) all hanging out together in the build up to the show (think helicopter tours and shopping trips) and mingling on the front row.
The venue was an architect’s delight UFO-like buildings are Nicolas Ghesquière’s thing, we understand. Take the Frank Ghery-designed Louis Vuitton Foundation, which soars over Paris like a glass ship, or last year’s resort show venue, which was Bob Hope’s futuristic 70s pad in Palm Springs. In Rio, he found the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum to play host to his vision, shaped like a villain’s lair and allowing for a stunning backdrop against the city’s coastline.
Alessandra Ambrosio did a Snapchat takeover Naturally. Sat front row, the Brazilian supermodel was the perfect choice to play tour guide for Vuitton’s loyal following, Snapchatting constantly throughout the show and posting selfies by the dozen.
The after-party was at the base of the Corcovado After the show, guests headed to Parque Lage, a mansion / art school at the base of the Corcovado, in the shadow of the Christ the Redeemer. Can Gucci top this with their outing at Westminster Abbey later this week? Can Dior take Blenheim Palace by storm? Between Chanel and Louis Vuitton, the bar has been set.