Sophomore Collection
Louis Vuitton collaborates with Jeff Koons for chapter two of ‘Masters’
ouis vuitton recently launched a second collection in collaboration with Jeff Koons, one of the most influential living contemporary artists. Debuted on October 27, this second chapter of bags and accessories is based on the artist’s “Masters” series of paintings.
The displayed artworks were Reclining Girl by François Boucher, Delightful Land by Paul Gauguin, Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet, Water Lilies by Claude Monet, The Triumph of Pan by Nicolas Poussin (exclusive for Maison Louis Vuitton Vendôme) and Ancient Rome by J.M.W. Turner.
This new set of paintings relates to Koons’ connection to each of the artists. “They are part of my DNA,” Koons said. “When somebody walks down the street with this bag, or sits in a café with this bag, it is communicating a love of humanism,” Koons says of the Manet Neverfull.
As with the first chapter of the Masters collection, Koons has also reconfigured the famous Louis Vuitton Monogram to bear his own initials. This represents a radical departure for the House, which has never previously allowed its iconic pattern to be reshaped. Just as the “Gazing Ball” paintings placed Koons within the lineage of art history, so this collaboration situates the artist within the heritage of Louis Vuitton itself, demonstrating the power of the artistic gesture to connect the present day with a shared cultural history.
Elements from this new Monogram have been crafted by Louis Vuitton in metal and placed on the exterior of the bag, as has Koons’ own signature. Each bag also carries a tag in the shape of the inflatable rabbit that has proven to be an enduring motif in Koons’ work throughout his 40-year career. Meanwhile, a biography and portrait of the Master whose work has been referenced is featured on the inside of the bag.
Louis Vuitton has affirmed its engagement with the world of art through a series of highprofile collaborations with Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama, Cindy Sherman, James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson and Daniel Buren.
Such collaborations expand the House’s role as both patron and curator in creating new ways for the public to experience the arts, particularly with the opening of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in 2014, a distinctive art museum designed by Frank Gehry. The second series of the Jeff Koons’ “Masters” collection builds on that well-established foundation, further exploring the intersection between fashion and art.