Louvre, the music of Daft Punk echoes and the works of Fornasetti enchant, thus opens the FW 2021-22 fashion show by Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton; the collection in collaboration with the versatile and eclectic Italian artist par excellence.
Who was Piero Fornasetti?
Born in Milan on November 10, 1913, he is an Italian artist whose unstoppable creative flair makes him unique in the art scene. Exponent and visionary of the Italian culture of industrial design, he is one of the few artists to be hardly traceable to a specific current. The foundation of his design and decorative arts atelier in Milan, now famous all over the world under the artistic direction of his son, dates back to the 1950s. In the production of high craftsmanship of furniture and accessories, his plates with a woman’s face, trays, placemats, candles have become famous; all united by being between art and design, in a new and fascinating stylistic universe. His Milanese home is today a fixed stop for every art lover.
It is Fornasetti, therefore, to inspire the multifaceted collection that showcases the hand-painted images that have enchanted art and design lovers. The Ghesquière Fall / Winter 2021 fashion show, unveiled in the Michelangelo and Daru Galleries in the Louvre, is an aesthetic and creative dialogue that goes beyond time, starting from Fornasetti to find his inspirations, linked to Ancient Greece. The collection contains specific themes and works selected from the Fornasetti Archive in Milan by Nicolas and Barnaba Fornasetti, the son.
At the parade of garments, attention is drawn to the rich blend of different colors, textures and techniques, which combine Ghesquière’s extraordinarily contemporary design with Fornasetti’s illustrated world. The main elements are velvet dresses, printed tops in shiny jersey, on which we find Fornasetti drawings of ancient statues, tailored hooded jackets, oversized outerwear printed with the famous motifs: architectures, locks, keys and portraits. The iconic bags of the maison are immersed in the artist’s works in a new and exclusive version.
Cropped leather jackets and bomber jackets, oversized printed puffer jackets, are mixed now in tulle skirts to be worn with a boyfriend sweatshirt, now in 80’s jeans and leather pants. The mini dresses have a high collar and a full skirt to be combined with soft and voluminous over-the-knee boots; the vests come in puffer or tailored with streetwear details.
“With this collaboration, I wanted to use the pieces to evoke the continuing modernity of Fornasetti’s artistic world,” says Nicolas Ghesquière. “Fornasetti’s enduring body of work is the realisation of a remarkable hand-drawn technique and magical take on the world, and I am particularly drawn to the way Fornasetti re-explored and reworked the heritage of classicism and ancient Rome, adding new references to historical imagery. As a designer who has always loved fashion’s ability to evoke the past, present and future simultaneously, I wanted to add new layers to this creative palimpsest. Exploring the Fornasetti archives had the excitement of an archaeological dig, searching for and finding drawings from the past to give them a new life for Louis Vuitton – for now and the future.”
“My father was an innovator who believed in the handmade, just like Louis Vuitton,” says Barnaba Fornasetti, son of Piero Fornasetti, and the brand’s artistic director. “Our vision has always been to bring Fornasetti’s unique artistic imagination to people through beautifully crafted objects, and this rewarding collaboration represents a new opportunity to expand and explore its visual creativity.”
The Louis Vuitton-Fornasetti collaboration mixes the unrivaled creativity and craftsmanship of Louis Vuitton with the magical, visionary representation of the Fornasetti world.