LA DOLCE VITA With their Alta Moda experience on the banks of Lake Como, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are redrawing the rules of the modern fashion show
these were the clothes that I started to cut and reshape and completely changed. And then I’d wear them to school – a short trench that I’d cut, or a jacket. I still have some of those pieces… These are my memories of my first customisation, let’s say; a transmission of something…’
His description reminds me of the way in which he has taken some of Louis Vuitton’s most iconic objects – the monogrammed trunks in the brand’s archives; personalised luggage used by royalty, film stars, explorers – and reimagined them as chic little bags. ‘I thought, how can those trunks be translated today? How can we synthesise that into a small object that will be more adapted to an everyday use for a woman? So I decided it was time to miniaturise!’
Tellingly, Ghesquière also understands the emotional resonance of a Vuitton trunk. ‘It’s very beautiful, of course, the savoir faire and the craftsmanship… I love that, but I also love what might be inside the trunk – it could be a story, an emotion, a life. It’s so wonderful, the idea of a container that is precious and beautiful in itself, that might contain something even more precious and beautiful.
‘So this symbol of Vuitton, this is a magical box that you open and anything can happen. It is a concept that I love – and the idea that I can put my own story inside the box, and then I will open it at some point, and it might be a Cruise show, or another collection, or a different project… It’s funny, you feel safe when you do that, it feels contained, until you expose what’s inside to the world, which is the case with Vuitton, because it’s so powerful… It’s a wonderful inspiration.’
This capacity to respond in such an imaginative way – whether to his grandfather’s clothing packed into old luggage, or to a well-travelled trunk in the Vuitton archive – might explain Ghesquière’s ability to form an intuitive emotional connection with the women who wear his clothes or carry his bags. He is a longstanding champion of the actresses who have starred in the Louis Vuitton campaigns – Alicia Vikander, Ruth Negga, Michelle Williams – and his close friendship with Jennifer Connelly has developed over a decade. In other words, these women are more than ‘faces’ to him. ‘We build a relationship, we work together and it’s wonderful, fruitful and coherent.’ Connelly, for her part, has paid tribute to Ghesquière’s artistry and his focus on inclusivity. Speaking at a Bazaar gala in New York last year, the actress said: ‘Nicolas prescribes neither how we should wear his clothes nor who should wear his clothes. Instead, with each collection he expands the vocabulary we can use to express ourselves and he invites us to listen to a striking array of powerful voices… insisting that blonde hair, pink hair and dreadlocks are equally beautiful; that the beauty of 75 is as relevant as the beauty of 25.’
Ghesquière has also dressed Brigitte Macron since before her husband was elected President. ‘She used to wear Balenciaga when I was there, but I didn’t know it at the time,’ he says, ‘and then when we first met, about a year before the election, she was wearing Vuitton, and she said, “I’ve followed your work for a while.” And I remember her smile, and her charisma. So we had lunch, and she asked me my opinion, because she was going to have to spend a lot of time in the public eye. And we started to see each other a lot and to define what was going to be true to her: a very recognisable signature style, that was personal, yet would define her in her role…’
In doing so, Ghesquière has revealed an exceptional mastery of the art of sartorial communication and diplomacy; all the while allowing Madame Macron to convey her own message about her independence and her right to look sensually chic at the age of 65, whether in the above-the-knee sky-blue Vuitton dress that she wore to her husband’s inauguration, or the black leather leggings in which she cut a dash at a previous Vuitton show in Paris.
As for this Cruise show – the clock is ticking, and an assistant arrives to take Ghesquière backstage, to check on the final details. Needless to say, he bids me farewell with the same charm as he has conducted the entire conversation – ‘I hope we can keep talking in the future?’ – and then returns to his work, without a trace of pomp or ceremony.
By the time the show begins, the threatened rain has stayed away, and the audience remains dry, as we watch a parade of models follow the curved path of Miró’s Labyrinth. Ruth Negga is in the front row, as are Emma Stone and Jennifer Connelly, but all eyes are on the clothes. The first impression is one of freedom of movement; the models stride along in flat sneaker-boots, with an air of purpose, rather than hobbling in heels. True, there are Ghesquière’s characteristic sculptural silhouettes – broadshouldered jackets, elements of angular tailoring – and yet these are teamed with softly flowing silks and iridescent, fluttering feathers, that move with the bodies of the women who are wearing them, instead of constricting them. This lightness of touch reminds me of something that Ghesquière had said in our earlier conversation, when we discussed his incorporation of sportswear into high fashion, although he felt sportswear wasn’t even the right term any more. ‘It’s about making clothes with movement,’ he said, ‘that give more freedom for women to dress – and that’s what we’re always looking for in women’s dressing, more freedom.’
After the show has finished, the rain begins to come down, but everyone still looks happy – the audience, the models, the Vuitton team; and I see Nicolas Ghesquière across the crowd, embracing Jennifer Connelly. There are so many people swirling around him, that I don’t even try to reach him to offer my congratulations. But if he happens to be reading this, I’d say, ‘Bravo!’ And yes, we are always looking for more freedom in what we wear; for in the words of Miró himself: ‘To gain freedom is to gain simplicity…’
‘This symbol of Vuitton, this magical box that you open and anything can happen’