Skateboards, Sunsets And Science: Welcome To Louis Vuitton’s Cruise Show

Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière is famed for hosting Cruise shows in modernist architecture around the world. And so for Cruise 2023, a trip to sunny San Diego: for a collection that shone against the backdrop of an epic, West Coast sunset.

Phoebe Dynevor Led A Starry Front Row

Fresh from dominating the Met Gala earlier this month, Nicolas Ghesquière’s formidable tribe of A-listers hot-footed to the West Coast to sit front row at the Cruise show. Representing the Brits, Phoebe Dynevor and Gemma Chan were spotted trading notes on the metallic gowns. Meanwhile, for Leslie Mann it was a family affair: the Knocked Up star attended with her two daughters Iris and Maude Apatow.

But the star seemingly most caught up in the excitement was Renate Reinsve. The actress who has shot to fame thanks to her role in Fleabag-esque movie The Worst Person In The World was seen making her way through the crowds to snap a sunset selfie overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the end of the show. And we love her for that.

The Sunset Was The Star Of The Show

Renate had the right idea. Nicolas Ghesquière revealed backstage that he wanted the sun to be the star of the evening. Timing the start of the show to coincide with sunset, the golden San Diego light was the perfect accompaniment to a glistening collection. From cargo pants that looked like they were made of molten gold to gowns flecked with metallics, there was plenty here that the watching A-listers will want to wear on and off the red carpet. Next stop, Cannes?

Forget Handbags, Anyone For A Louis Vuitton Skateboard?

There were touches of coastal living throughout the collection. Ghesquière said the spray-painted jackets were inspired by jet skis and kites you see at the ocean, whilst the linen and raw fabrics were a nod to the nomadic desert lifestyle. But this was a beach wardrobe with a luxury twist. Case in point: the Louis Vuitton skateboard making a play for cult accessory of the season.

This Was A Show Location Dedicated To Science…

The skateboard – nay, the entire show – was inspired by Ghesquière’s holiday to San Diego two years ago. As a devotee of modernist architecture, he had always longed to visit the Salk Institute designed by Louis Khan. But the designer found the scientific research institute closed to tourists. So, he did what any Louis Vuitton creative director would, and asked to stage a show there. The space delivered the sunset-scapes Ghesquière had hoped for, but it had a deeper meaning, too. The non-profit institute is where scientists invented the polio vaccine and continue to research life-changing discoveries.

…Featuring Model And Activist Lauren Wasser

That sense of science meets art was reflected on the catwalk, too. Model and activist Lauren Wasser led the finale, her gold prosthetic legs glistening in the sunset. The model had to have both her legs amputated after becoming infected with Toxic Shock Syndrome. Today she combines modelling with education for better knowledge about the risk associated with tampons. A fitting choice of casting then for a space that, as Ghesquière put it, is where people are ‘working on the future of a better humanity.’ And what could feel more important than that right now.