Marc Jacobs revives english embroidery for Louis Vuitton
Fashion is a constant merry-go-round, and few know that better than Marc Jacobs, creative director of Louis Vuitton. Dispelling rumors that he would move to Christian Dior, Jacobs said he had “so much more to do” at LV, and indeed, why would he move to a house that another designer built? “Building Louis Vuitton into a fashion company is something nobody else can say they really started,” he explained.
Jacobs’ latest turn on the merry-go-round was a literal one: never short on whimsy, his motif for Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2012 collection involved models clad in pastel-hued dresses arrayed before a glittering carousel of white horses. This carnival of candied-almond frocks sent editors into a Twitter frenzy — the show was most often described as a “fashion fairytale.”
Jacobs has revived the 19th-century technique of broderie anglaise, or “English embroidery,” bringing it into the 21st by stopping at a couple of decades along the way. The structured, bell-shaped skirts bring to mind the Fifties, while the laser cutwork has the joie de vivre of the Flower Power patterns of the Sixties.
According to Louis Vuitton, the collection offers a reverse mirror image of their fall/winter 2011 offerings: “Instead of fetishism comes femininity, in place of navy and black, sweet sorbet shades, and instead of strict silhouettes, curvaceous crinolines and floating feathers.”
Broderie anglaise could also remind you of that white doily you crocheted in high school, but when Kate Moss stepped out in the show’s final dress, doilies were the furthest things from people’s minds. Invoking the essence of couture, the stylish one’s baby doll was hand-embroidered with sequins and ostrich feathers, producing a wispily ethereal confection.
It wasn’t all wraithlike perfection, though. The classically white needlework was reinterpreted in a number of edgy ways: silk cellophane wrapped around a demure knee-length skirt, studded and stoned paper leather on separates, cool black cutouts on a cotton biker jacket and skirt, while studs and oversized 3D flowers embellished shirtdresses in pale ice-cream shades.
What about the bags, you say? Louis Vuitton has done it again. You’re sure to want the new iterations of the Lockit bag — a holdover from last season — and the Speedy. Both have been reinterpreted in the “soft, airy spirit” of the collection, meaning they bear just the faintest traces of color, if they’re not outright transparent, that is. Crafted from sheer nylon voile, you can see through the Lockit to a small Monogram canvas purse inside. Meanwhile, the Speedy is made of bleached denim woven with silver thread, and powdered or whitewashed crocodile.
The once-humble basket bag has been elevated to luxury status in embossed and perforated metallic leather, but perhaps the most exquisite item is also the most understated: LV tells us that the mosaic covering its Monogram minaudiere was painstakingly pieced together from 12,500 fragments of eggshell over 600 hours — “metaphor indeed for the care and craftsmanship lavished on this collection.”
My daughter would adore the accessories, which is Vuitton’s grownup version of little girls playing dress-up: tiaras, bangles that jingle with silver bells, and charm necklaces strung with high-fashion versions of found objects like feathers, tiny sailboats, bells and rock crystals. Several of Jacobs’ models also held delicate embroidered organza parasols, while another, as she stepped from her horse, left behind the most luxurious of rugs — in pure mink encrusted with the Monogram pattern.
Finishing the look were the shoes, which also contrasted soft and hard, demure and downright fetishistic. Two-toned pastel straps decorated shoes with sharply pointed toes, some with metallic silver toecaps that would leave a considerable dent in whatever you kicked. It’s all about the mule this time, perched on a high, straight heel, with an array of textures to step in, from suede to patent leather to crocodile, while the two-toned pumps look sexy and sleek in pale crocodile and calf.
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In the Philippines, Louis Vuitton is located in Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati.
