A Wren Says

On Monday, Louis Vuitton released a video teasing its then upcoming show for its Men’s Spring Summer 2025 line. In it, we see a collection of children, who appear to be a sort of Model UN. It was a call for unity and a reminder that they are the future. It is in the hands of the youth to reinvent and reimagine the world.

That same video would open their show on Tuesday before the models come down the expansive runway. First in all black, colors so dark it made me question if they knew they were designing for summer. Then slowly the colors began to lighten. Then there was brown, and gray, and finally the inclusion of white and pastels. I don’t know if it were intentional or not, but I noticed that first set of black clothes was mirrored by the dark skin of the models and that the complexions lightened along with the clothes. Did someone make a decision at casting to highlight dark skin models? Based on an interview in Vogue, this was in fact intentional to reflect humanity.

In the live chat, LV notes that this is a multicultural show and an ode to travel and multiculturalism. I certainly noticed the number of trunks literally carted around and the world themed print. The old school soccer ball pattern turned into jackets and jerseys was a nod to the world’s game or maybe the concurrent Euro Cup.  

One of the key inspirations was the now closed Air Afrique, a pan African airline. It is clear how the flight attendant details were incorporated, but it remains unclear how far the brand went past there. (Though, in some articles there is references to dandy, dapper travelers.)

The setting at the UNESCO home certainly centers the world at large. But beyond the setting and opening video, I wasn’t sure how this collection pulled from multiple cultures. I can certainly see the homage to travel throughout. Maybe the interpretation was to go forth and experience the world and the theme was mislabeled. Or maybe you could say there is a nod to humanity coming together, or maybe I am just uninformed or unnecessarily harsh. In his interview, Pharrell says that the inspiration is found in the details, and those details are largely lost by those unable to feel and examine the clothes firsthand. But this collection does feel still feel like a slim variation on what we’ve seen before from this brand. The pixelated print, the gauzy and delicate fabrics traditional in womenswear codes both were done before.

If it isn’t already clear, I wasn’t inspired by this show, nor did I really appreciate how the inspiration was interpreted into the clothes we saw. In contrast, when Nicholas Ghesquière sends a womenswear collection down a runway, it is clear on inspection how the chosen inspiration is reflected in clothes. Or even in sister brand Dior, Maria Grazia Churi and Kim Jones clearly demonstrate their inspiration through borrowing this embroidery technique or an incorporation of an author’s words. Whether I like the clothes or not, I understand how they got there. But Williams is much younger in his career as a creative director, this might just be a maturity thing.

Or maybe among the LV team, the focus was more to ensure cohesiveness between collections. Even with a cursory nod the world coming together in Paris for the Olympics, they recognized the need to keep doing what works for them. Criticism about the multiculturalism theme aside, there were new prints and patterns debuted at this show. They have a good thing going, with their sales consistently at the top of the market. Why mess with that?

I watch shows from the perspective of an art critic, but buyers are looking to see what they should ad to their expensive closets. The clothes, if they are of good quality (and even not) will sell because of the power of the Louis Vuitton brand. It’s “Louis,” and still coveted. I maybe be scrutinizing the artistic vision of this collection, but those with means will buy the clothes because they want to be seen in the brand. It doesn’t have to have a theme, just the logo. Maybe that is unfairly cynical, but is it wrong?

But those are my thoughts. What do you think? Also I have to give it to the brand that they consistently demonstrate through the live stream camera work that they want the at home audience to have a good experience as well. You can view the show for yourself here.

You can read more about the show from Vogue Runway.