It’s been a major month for Louis Vuitton. With the luxury house’s ambassadors out in full force at the Cannes Film Festival, creative director Nicolas Ghesquière proved, once again, he knows his way around a statement dress. Cate Blanchett made headlines for all the right reasons when she chose to work with the designer to create a monochrome gown entirely out of deadstock material from the house’s ateliers as part of her mission to take a more sustainable approach to red carpet season. Alicia Vikander took a more traditional route: her embellished peach dress had shades of the Tudor court about it, a nod perhaps to her new role in Firebrand, a period drama that won rave reviews. Meanwhile, Gemma Chan matched the most glamourous red carpet with a scarlet cutaway dress that was instantly trending on TikTok.
The show location was a private island near Lake Como
It made sense then that, Cannes complete, the trio hopped the short distance to Italy to show their support to Ghesquière, sitting front row at his latest Cruise show. The show setting was both strategic in its proximity to the French Riviera and stunning in its own right. A catwalk had been built snaking around the Baroque formal gardens of Isola Bella, a private island in the middle of Lake Maggiore accessible only by boat.
But as unseasonable torrential rain hit just hours before the show, the Louis Vuitton team sprang into action, moving the venue inside to the island’s ornate palazzo, owned by two Italian aristocrat sisters Beatrice and Matilde Borromeo. Cue a collection of see-through umbrellas and a free-for-all as benches were hastily positioned beneath masterpieces of Italian art, with guests told to sit wherever they could find space.
Half of Hollywood was there – plus Oprah!
Nonetheless, the downpour did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the A-listers. In fact, as Louis Vuitton’s ambassadors Emma Stone, Jennifer Connelly and Catherine Deneuve braved the slippery boat ride in their platform heels, they were joined by an unexpected guest – Oprah. The TV icon had been on holiday in nearby Lake Como with friend Gayle King, when she heard about the hot ticket show and asked to crash.
The whole collection was inspired by the mystery of what’s under the sea
As the models wound their way through the 17th century antiques, there was something fitting about the lashing rain: because it was clear this was a collection inspired by the magical lakes surrounding the location. That meant plenty of Ghesquière’s signature scuba attire: neoprene suits worn with knotted rope belts and low-slung trousers, and tonnes of trainers that’ll have the designer’s sneakerhead devotees salivating over.
But there were also beautiful webbed sleeved jackets, with water-stain prints as if the model had just stepped out of the lakes onto shore. And bubble-shaped skirts adorned with huge paillettes, worn with tops featuring soft shoulders shaped like shells with anchors in lieu of buttons. Some even wore deep-sea diving googles or King Triton-esque feathered headdresses. Yes, this was the Little Mermaid, Louis Vuitton style.
There were plenty of dresses you should expect to see on the red carpet soon
And if any of those new Disney stars are looking for something red carpet worthy on their current tour, their stylists should hit the phone. The finale was a series of, as Ghesquière put it, ‘very grand, ultra-flou’ evening dresses. But while last week’s winning Louis Vuitton dresses in Cannes were sexy or structured, the seven that closed the Cruise show felt very different. Bias-cut in sorbet shades, they were, Ghesquiere said a new ‘approach to ultra-romanticism. They’re like unreal flowers from this once-in-a-lifetime garden.’
All hail the sailor bag – a practical, chuck-it-all-in affair…
With their costume flourishes, Ghesquiere’s shows can often feel like the opposite of the so-called stealth wealth movement sweeping fashion right now. But, Hollywood star attire aside, there were also plenty of practical purchases for us all, too. Three double-breasted coats in camel, navy and black looked like instant classics. Mannish neutral-coloured shorts were worn with slashed pastel knits – a colour combo worth taking note of for the summer. And the accessories seemed designed to work for real life, too.
Think flat pirate boots that most of us would have liked to steal from the catwalk and wear home in the rain and plenty of ludicrously capacious bags. Yes, the biggest news in the bags (quite literally) was the comeback of Louis Vuitton’s historic Randonnee shape. A huge sailor-style bucket bag, it’s the kind of chuck-it-all-in-bag Succession’s Tom might not approve of but that every modern woman will love.
‘I explored an exercise I like very much, which I’ve been practicing at Louis Vuitton for a long time: the juxtaposition between the familiar and the remarkable,’ is how Ghesquiere described the collection backstage. ‘A mixture of everyday and unique moments.’