Louis Vuitton Unveils New Collection of Artist-Designed Bags
This third iteration of ArtyCapucines handbags features beautiful creations by Vik Muniz, Paola Pivi, Zeng Fanzhi, Donna Huanca, Huang Yuxing, and Gregor Hildebrandt
The third iteration of Louis Vuitton’s ArtyCapucines features designs by Paola Pivi, Zeng Fanzhi, Vik Muniz, Donna Huanca, Huang Yuxing, and Gregor Hildebrandt
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
“Fashion is more art than art is,” Andy Warhol once quipped. And while the Pop artist’s sentiment is definitely debatable, it’s also quite prescient as more and more fashion brands are elevating their already majestic designs with innovative collaborations with talents whose work is more commonly viewed on gallery and museum walls.
Zeng Fanzhi’s ArtyCapucines design features a vibrant reimagining of Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait.
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
One of the labels most exuberantly embracing the trend is Louis Vuitton, which not only includes the Fondation Louis Vuitton, an arts patronage that hosts a rotating schedule of modern and contemporary art installations inside its sculptural Frank Gehry-designed institution in France, but also frequently collaborates with notable creators on fashion and home collections.
The Louis Vuitton Capucines bag by Paola Pivi features an original work inspired by the artist’s One Cup of Cappuccino Then I Go (2007).
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Most recently, Louis Vuitton has presented pieces crafted in conjunction with Urs Fischer, Alex Israel, Jonas Wood, and Jeff Koons. However, the brand’s most buzzworthy program is the ArtyCapucines series, now in its third iteration, for which globally recognized artists work alongside the atelier’s craftsmen to reimagine Louis Vuitton’s iconic Capucines handbag. This latest array features imaginative designs by Paola Pivi, Zeng Fanzhi, Vik Muniz, Donna Huanca, Huang Yuxing, and Gregor Hildebrandt. Available in limited editions of 200, the bags will be available in Louis Vuitton stores around the world.
Vik Muniz’s creation for ArtyCapucines draws influence from the artist’s 2019 series, Quasi Tutto.
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
While the artist editions are as varied as the talents themselves—from the whimsical look of Muniz’s Quasi Tutto-inspired creation to the ethereal swirls of Huanca’s imaginative handbag reminiscent of her works Cara de Fuego and Muyal Jol to the fierce feline culled from Pivi’s 2007 artwork One Cup of Cappuccino Then I Go, this year’s ArtyCapucine collection is as imaginative as it is timeless and elegant.
See the designs in this year’s collection below.
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Louis Vuitton Unveils Next Collection of Collectible ArtyCapucines Handbags
Zeng Fanzhiu2019s Capucines bag is a reimagining of Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portrait, rendered in 700,000 embroidery stitches.
Photograph by Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
The metal LV of Fanzhiu2019s ArtyCapucines bag uses a printing technique called sublimation.
Photograph by Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Vik Muniz’s whimsical design is inspired by his 2019 series Quasi Tutto with 154 colorful icons added using either embossed inkjet printing or marquetry techniques with repurposed Heritage leather from the atelier’s workshops.
Photograph by Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
The Louis Vuitton Capucines bag by Paola Pivi features an original work inspired by the artist’s One Cup of Cappuccino Then I Go (2007).
Photograph by Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Gold colored leather and real gold leaf enhances the cappuccino cups that surround the life-like leopard that has a fur like appearance and touch.
Photograph by Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Huang Yuxing’s Louis Vuitton BB-sized Capucines translates the artistu2019s The Colossus Hidden Deep in the Hills (2019) in vibrant embroidery.
Photograph by Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Huang Yuxing’s signature paint drips are recreated in the bag’s design using densely filled point de bouclette embroidery with metallic thread. The handcrafted LV icon is inlaid with rainbow enamel while the bag’s interior is a vibrant pink silk.
The Louis Vuitton Capucines by Gregor Hildebrandt captures the artist’s unique technique utilizing magnetic dust sourced from recording tape while the LV logo pays homage to the artist’s love of albums by being inlaid with actual vinyl record.
Photograph by Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Gregor Hildebrandt.
Photograph by Thomas Lohr
Artist Donna Huanca channeled her earlier paintings Cara de Fuego and Muyal Jol into the ethereal design for her Capucines bag that combines 3D printing and three different embroidery techniques.
