July 13, 2012
A Frenzy of Dots for New Vuitton-Kusama Collection
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 1 MIN.
NEW YORK (AP) - French fashion house Louis Vuitton is again putting a bit of Japanese culture on the arms of its customers.
The brand, best known for leather goods, formally unveiled a new collection created in collaboration between Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs. The theme is bold, graphic polka dots - a signature of the artist - offered in a frenzied series of sizes and colors.
Jacobs and Kusama started with inspiration of "obsession and seriality," according to a company statement.
The dots cover shoes, handbags, shirts, skirts and sunglasses, among other items.
Jacobs met Kusama in 2006. He is an avid art collector and was a fan of Kusama's sculptures and paintings. "The obsessive character and the innocence of her artwork touch me," Jacobs said.
In honor of the new products, Louis Vuitton created a splashy display for the brand's flagship Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue that pays homage to three Kusama motifs: "Beginning of the Universe," ''Eternal Blooming Flowers in My Mind" and "Self-Obliteration." The building facade is wrapped in a pattern of dots.
The timing of the product launch and building installation coincides with the Whitney Museum of American Art's new exhibition of Kusama's work.
A decade ago, Jacobs and Louis Vuitton had great success collaborating with Japanese designer Takashi Murakami on a series of pop-art products that became instant must-haves among the fashion crowd and spawned a seemingly infinite number of mass-market items covered in similar-style rainbow-colored monograms and logos.
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Online:
http://www.louisvuittonkusama.com/
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
