LOUIS VUITTON/MARC JACOBS AT LES ARTS DECORATIFS

Marc Jacobs doll

Last week I was able to pop over to Paris for the Louis Vuitton/Marc Jacobs exhibit at Les Arts Decoratifs.  Since I am a fan of both the man and the house I felt if was my duty to check this out.  It began with the history of Louis Vuitton, the man behind the LV.  Starting as a trunk maker in Paris in the late 1800s, the man who created the historic label later teamed with Charles Worth, the creator of Parisian haute couture, to sell his wares to his high-class clientele.  In 1888 the ubiquitous Damier canvas was born and it was also the first time that Vuitton incorporated his initials into the pattern.  Who knew that this print had been around for over one hundred years?

LV trunk with Damier canvas

The exhibit then progressed into more modern times, documenting Marc Jacobs' tenure as creative director of the label.  I drooled over the wall of Louis Vuitton bags including the Alma, the Keepall, and the ever classic Speedy bag that Jacobs designed.  There was also a spotlight on his collaborations with artists Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakama (hello graffiti print and multi-colored logo) and who could forget the LV "nurses" from his Spring 2008 collection in collaboration with Richard Prince.

Other highlights included a video called "Fan Club" directed by Ruth Hudgens and featuring models dancing 1920's style and showing of the accessories from the designer's Spring 12 collection, as well as some of his more daring looks over the past 15 years that he has been with Louis Vuitton.  The fashion veteran showed he was still humble despite his fame by summing up his thoughts on his unbridled talent.  "I'm not perfect, but I'm perfect in imperfection.  Perfectly imperfect."