Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière loves playing with different eras and times, this is not a mystery. As you may remember, in his previous tenure at Balenciaga he came up with articulated C-3PO leggings (S/S 2007) that became iconic, while in a recent Louis Vuitton collection he relaunched Louis XV frocks and matched them with sporty shorts and shoes.
The luxury brand's A/W 18 collection was showcased this week during Paris Fashion Week in the Cour Lefuel, a courtyard of the Louvre. Built in the 1850s for Napoleon III, the courtyard features two ramps for Napoleon's horses that Ghesquière turned into a retro futurist set.
Models walked down the ramps that ended in a sort of spaceship-like platform. The clothes seemed sensible and bourgeois, but there were quirky details and touches that wouldn't have looked out of place in the wardrobe of Blade Runner's Rachael.
Cropped jackets were matched with semsible knee-length (pleated or straight) skirts, but the best pieces seemed to be the shirtdresses and shirts characterised by a three-layered round capelet motif around the shoulders. These designs called to mind airhostess or space uniforms.
Jackets and coats were in some cases decorated with metallic spiky elements or chains reminiscent of cowboy styles.
Accessories included nods to Western styles such as cowbody ties and to technology with envelope bags and totes printed with computer motherboard circuits.
Ghesquière claimed this was a quintessentially French collection, but this time the contrasts between replicants, computers and Western styles did not just point at his beloved tension between the past and the future, but conjured up the ghost of HBO American science fiction western thriller "Westworld".
The latter is a technologically advanced Wild West-themed amusement park for high-paying guests populated by android hosts.
While in some cases Ghesquière seemed to combine in one look two styles (Western and robotic), in others the rows of buttons called to mind the costume of actor Rodrigo Santoro as Hector Escaton, a host and a wanted gang leader.
The strongest connection with the series seems to be the triple layered capelet-cum-shirt that may be a mash up of '40s Hollywood style with the attire of Felix Lutz (played by Leonardo Nam), an employee of the Livestock Management division of the Westworld park (looks like Ghesquière has been spending a lot of time watching TV series - remember the "Stranger Things" syndrome?).
The three-tiered design may even be borrowed from the wool cape donned by Tyrone Power as Count Axel de Fersen in Marie Antoinette (1938), a reference that would suit Ghesquière's passion for French fashion.
The cape was designed by Gile Steele, while Adrian did the gowns for this historical drama film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring Norma Shearer.
It should't surprise us the fact that a fashion designer may freely borrow from the big or the small screen as for decades entire looks, small details and moods were stolen from famous costume designers (think, for example, about the legacy of Piero Tosi on the fashion runways...).
This can prove rather annoying if you are the plagiarised costume designer, but at the same time most costumes are not copyrighted, so this exercise is probably going to continue.
Moving on from fashion and film, here's a note for those readers who like robots and androids and may be looking for fresh inspirations: the Robotic Fabrication Masterclass and Symposium (Masterclass: 26th - 29th March; Symposium; Friday 30th March) will take place in Gent, Belgium (Masterclass: MMlab Departement Architectuur, Faculteit Architectuur, Campus Sint-Lucas Ghent; Symposium and exhibition: Designanseum, Gent; you will find further info at this link).
Organised in the framework of the exhibition "Hello Robot: Design Between Human and Machine" (currently on at the Design Museum in Gent) by the Research[x]Design research group of the Department of Architecture KU Leuven and Design Museum Gent, the double event will introduce participants into the process of designing and programming a robot, through an intensive hands-on workshop, resulting in a series of prototypes and an installation that will be exhibited in the Design Museum.
The masterclass is aimed at students and professionals in architecture, design and arts (please note: prior knowledge of 3D modeling is required) and will introduce participants to computational design tools and fabrication workflows. The aim is to program an industrial robot arm in order to build material prototypes and constructions in one week.
The Robotic Fabrication masterclass will be led by architect, designer and researcher Corneel Cannaerts, while the symposium will feature a series of speakers who will focus on the impact of robots on the design and fabrication processes.
The symposium and masterclass will not provide the final answers to some of the most common questions of our times, but will tackle issues such as how designers relate to technology, what is the impact of these technologies on the role of the designer, how these fabrication methods relate to traditional means of fabrication, which evolutions exist within the field of computational design and robotic fabrication and what their impact will be on architecture and design. Maybe Nicolas Ghesquière should take part in the symposium, it may provide him with some fresh inspirations and offer him an alternative to watching TV series and films.
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