Art & Craft

A glimpse at the exquisite detailing in Louis Vuitton’s fall/winter 2018 collection reveals the painstaking handiwork of the artisans who make the brand synonymous with quality craftsmanship

A glimpse at the exquisite detailing in Louis Vuitton’s fall/winter 2018 collection reveals the painstaking handiwork of the artisans who make the brand synonymous with quality craftsmanship

Photography

MADE TO MEASURE With its fantasy spaceship set on an old horse courtyard at the Louvre, Louis Vuitton’s fall/winter 2018 runway show felt like something out of the Star Wars saga, but the hands behind the collection were definitively human. Beyond the space-suit shoulders and neoprene fabrics that fed the futuristic theme, most pieces were balanced by old-school tailoring. This melding of the modern and the classic has long been a mark of the French fashion house, and especially so since Nicolas Ghesquière took the helm as artistic director. The juxtaposition was embodied this season by a beautiful bustier crocheted by hand to make a precise waterfall pattern as well as the opening look of an intricate tweed jacket adorned with metal chains that mimicked motherboard circuitry. Each delicate string was painstakingly hand-stitched with the hook and needle technique to create the interlaced chain embroidery. The precise, intricate beadwork formed an organised asymmetry of patterns that clearly demonstrated there just are some things that can only be done by hand.