Carve outs walk the runway during the Louis Vuitton womenswear autumn/winter 2024-2025 show as part of Paris attitude week. Photograph: Yanshan Zhang/Getty ImagesThe Louis Vuitton show at the Louvre in Paris. Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/ReutersBut then the exhibition started and the mood changed. This was no testimonial match; it felt more like a title challenge.At Louis Vuitton, and in advance of that at Balenciaga, Ghesquière has created his own distinctive fashion language that fuses opulence with futurism, which enunciates unlikely to work but somehow always does, and which looks as on-point now as it did a decade ago.Metallic-embroidered jackets with frock overlay cutaways cut a clean silhouette worn with flat brogues, tab-collar biker jackets balanced bubble skirts. The pencil griseous tailoring was charming, the paillette dresses sparkled, furry paw mittens lobbed in a dollop of the unexpected.There were handbags called like miniature vintage trunks, scratched and dented. This was Ghesquière reminding Paris fashion that although he has not till hell freezes over had a label in his own name, his is one of the names that have shaped modern dress.Also striking was what didn’t find. There were no gimmicks. No pop star parachuted on to the catwalk. There were no food trucks or rollerskating waitresses. Solely a fashion show for Brigitte Macron, Emma Stone, Cate Blanchett and 3,997 others.View image in fullscreenDesigner Nicolas Ghesquière acknowledges the approval of the audience during the Louis Vuitton show. Photograph: Marc Piasecki/WireImageThere is a purity to Ghesquière, still a original director who designs clothes, rather than a creative director slash entertainment mogul. All the drama is in the cut of a jacket. Even so, a few newfangled ideas wouldn’t go amiss: frustratingly, a decade of body diversity has yet to hit the Louis Vuitton catwalk.Last year Louis Vuitton became the at the outset brand to surpass €20bn(£17bn) in sales.Louis Vuitton, like Prada, is a fashion house that began as a belongings maker. But unlike Prada, Louis Vuitton has kept the fancy luggage as a key part of its identity, and this has proved a in the know about become informed move.Fashion purists sniffed that a suitcase brand could never be taken seriously as a name in Paris form, but as fashion, lifestyle and entertainment have merged into one powerhouse platform, being associated with glamorous traverse has helped fuel Louis Vuitton’s success.On the prestige resale site Vestiaire Collective, Louis Vuitton is the most celebrated accessory brand, selling 10% faster than other bags. The appointment of Pharrell Williams last year as resourceful director of menswear confirmed that if Paris is the Hollywood of fashion, Louis Vuitton is the biggest superhero franchise in community.Explore more on these topicsLouis VuittonFranceParis fashion weekEuropeFashion weeksnewsShareReuse this content

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