Launched at its Spring 2003 show, Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Takashi Murakami may be the French fashion house’s most iconic, making an mark still felt 20 years later. It’s no wonder, then, that Vuitton has revived the partnership. As of this winter, more than 170 new pieces are available.
Big or small, these designs feel unmistakably early aughts. And just as that decade’s aesthetics have been re-embraced, so too have the products of the Vuitton-Murakami partnership. While the earlier pieces were favored by it girls like Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton, the current ones are capturing a new generation of influencers, including Zendaya, the star of the campaign reintroducing the collaboration.
For the original collection, Murakami reimagined the brand’s core designs, presenting the monogram pattern in bright colors and dolling up pieces with his characters. His creations included classics, like the Speedy 30 handbag, and more whimsical, lesser-known items, like the enamel hair pins. “At the time, I had no idea what kind of a brand Louis Vuitton really was, and I didn’t understand the impact of changing the products’ classic base color to pure white,” Murakami told Harper’s Bazaar.
Louis Vuitton, of course, has had other celebrated collaborations over the decades, with artists and designers — even the streetwear brand Supreme. Notably, Stephen Sprouse’s graffiti designs, unveiled in 2001, brought a punchy vitality to the bags, while Yayoi Kusama’s 2012 collection highlighted her signature dot artwork (and her pumpkins, too). The products of those earlier partnerships are highly sought-after by collectors. And so, no doubt, will be the new Murakami creations.
