Review: The Louis Vuitton-Marc Jacobs Celebration

It´s truly been a day of emotions and events that will remain in my mind for a very long time. Thanks to the Marketing team of Louis Vuitton, here in Panama, I was able to Live broadcast the exhibition opening of Louis Vuitton-Marc Jacobs at Les Arts Décoratifs Museum in Paris; I was also lucky to get an exclusive Live broadcast of the Louis Vuitton Women Autum/Winter Fashion Show 2012-13. There´s no doubt I had to write a review of this day, after all is what a fashion blog is all about taking fashion to everyone and everywhere from the humble point of view of the blogger who runs it, I knew this wouldn´t be a short note and that´s why for the sake of understanding I decided to write it in english so the majority of my readers may read it. Let´s begin.

As the imposing Louis Vuitton clock stroke 10:00 am the thunderous applauses and cheers from the crowd recieived the long expected traverles that arrived via train to the Louis Vuitton Women Autum/Winter Presentation. For a show that took the artistics to a whole new level awe it is impossible not to start by mentioning the train, inspired by the legendary Orient Express, this vessel carried within its luxurious interiors what I like to think of as the completed dream of a voyage that went back to the core roots of the brand and merged it with a current future that evolves continously while embracing the legacy of the past. The lighitng in soft tones of purple and blue, the smoke and the breathtaking soundtrack from Philip Glass titled "The Photographer"created a mysterious and quite spine chilling scenery for a show that was nothing more than impressive. At the far entrance of the train a bell boy awaited the first passenger, and as we will  witness through the course of runway, this figure (the bell boy) would be one of the many hidden quotes that defined part of the background of this collection.
As the first model stepped out it was clear that this was a celebration of the 15 years that Marc Jacobs has invested in being the head designer for the Maison, which was already legendary for the quality and craftmanship of its luggages and bags, and helped establish it as giant in the world of fashion clothing.
While the models catwalked the autum/winter collection it was evident that this year´s motif was a mixture of simple but strong geometry against the superb work in prints, patterns and textures. The cut was A line for most of the collection with fitted pants and outfits made out of rich and exclusive fabrics. Despite being full of a varied choice of desgins, for me, there where three key points that truly made the collection what it was.

The first of these were the coats with their clean look, some of them had fur in the collar, big buttons and A line shape, added a timeless touch to the collection and were a reminiscent of the tailoring the house has been working since Marc Jacobs took the helms.

In second came the prints which we were able to see in two pieces suits, coats and skirts. These brought up color to the collection and a graphic detail the brand has been famous for thanks to Marc Jacobs.

Last but not least the embroidey, this was one of the most fascinating and fashion forward, at least from my point of view, parts of the collection. Not because of shapes or cuts, but for the techniques applied in it, with details in colored holograms, lasered cut stones and aluminium wooven with tweed for a shimmering look.

To say it was Louis Vuitton´s best collection its up to you, I personally don´t think it was the brands most "fashion friendly" attempt but what made it special for those who have followed it and studied its origins is precisely that. What this collection stands for is directly linked to its roots, traveling, the luxury and background the house grew from, this became more evident with the luggage and bags which were huge and included wardrobe luggages, for hats, shoes and petite bags for personal traveling; as well, we could find a selection of everyday bags but always in xl size. Still in that subject, the bags were made with more finesse than ever with the Louis Vuitton iconic monogram engraved in croc skin, sequins and wool besides also being worked in ostrich skin, pony hair, crystals, goat skin and mink, some of them highly treated for a show stopping sparkle effect.

With a show full of long time fans and a star packed audience (with the likes of Anna Dello Russo, Anna Wintour, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalia Vodianova, Fan Bing Bing, Corinne Bailey Rae, Diana Agron, Catherine Deneuve, Caroline Sieber, Virginie Courtin Clarins, Antoine Arnault, Takashi Murakami and Elisa Sednaoui) Marc Jacobs has consolidated as one of the most influential and succesful designers in the business. The show was not the only special part of the day, as the night came in it was time for what we may call "round two" and included the opening exhibition of the Louis Vuitton-Marc Jacobs restrospective at Les Arts Décoratifs Museum. This event was held as a celebration of the 15 years of Mr. Jacobs reign but also a merge, and unveiling, of the two worlds that helped establish the brand as one of the biggest fashion icons in Paris and the world.
The retrospective which you will be able to see HERE found its way into the begginings of the Maison and the many ideas of Louis Vuitton, also it explores the creative process of Marc Jacobs and how he adapted the brands legacy to his own world, thus, making it what it´s today.
The experience of being able to do a Live broadcast of the exhibition was absolutely amazing, to have this opportunity is something most bloggers would love to experience and I am incredibly grateful to be among those who had the chance, it was really like being there.
As I said before there were some hints in the collection and runway that revealed part of its background; bell boys were not just there to help but to represent accesories to a woman who has it all, the slick and tailored pieces convey a sense of timeless which the brand has already established in its bags, being them a truly time testing accesory; and the train and time dwelled in the concept of looking forward and heading to new places on time. At the end of it all Mr. Marc Jacobs explained it in the most simple yet powerful way he could "a woman who´s going somewhere". So step in the LV train and travel to a destiny where elegance and chic will sure be awaiting.

I want to thank the Louis Vuitton Panama Marketing Team for being so fabulous and helping me with the posts by providing codes for the video, press notes and pictures, as well the Louis Vuitton International Marketing Team for giving this unique chance to Panama bloggers. To end this post I´d like to leave you with some of the quotes I could spot from the Exhibition broadcast.

"The best accesory for a woman is a man following her carrying her bags and luggage".

"High heels make you run marathons".- Natalia Vodianova

"Fashion is the right therapy for the sometimes tough world".- Anna Dello Russo

"Timeless is a very good investment".


HUGS, ANDY.