Louis Vuitton X Takashi Murakami
Louis Vuitton is bringing the nostalgic Y2K touch to attract luxury shoppers on New Year’s Day. The nostalgia in question is the reintroduction of LV’s iconic collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, which will be available in stores alongside a campaign featuring Zendaya. Meanwhile, Pietro Beccari, CEO of Louis Vuitton hinted that the brand might still have plans to bring back some of its most iconic designs, which also feature graffiti-inspired works by Stephen Sprouse.
Takashi Murakami is a groundbreaking artist recognized for his lively and whimsical style that effortlessly blends classic Japanese artistry with modern pop culture. His creations are marked by a sense of joyful excitement, frequently taking cues from anime, kawaii culture, and Japanese craftsmanship. He has previously joined forces with brands such as Hublot, Supreme, Uniqlo, Crocs, and Billionaire Boys Club. He aspires to create a third animated film to accompany the Vuitton collaboration, this time focusing on an “intergenerational story” told through the eyes of an older woman and her granddaughter.
When is the Collaboration Launching?
The Louis Vuitton x Murakami collection is scheduled to launch next week with pop-up events in seven cities across the globe, featuring activities like cafés, cinemas, care stations, and vending machines where customers who buy items from the collection can win prizes such as stickers, Tamagotchi, or trading cards. Y2K much?
In Milan, LV will commandeer two trams, one featuring a café and the other showcasing screenings of remastered versions of the artist’s original short films, ‘Superflat Monogram’ and ‘Superflat First Love,’ released in 2003 and 2009, respectively. Seoul will host a full pop-up event, including a Louis Vuitton x Murakami-themed ice cream shop and a photo booth experience. In Shanghai, three distinct spaces will emerge on Julu Road for just one week: a café, a retail shop, and a cinema area furnished with Murakami flower cushions.
To stimulate demand in Asia, the collection will launch first in Japan and China, where it will be available for preorder starting Friday, with in-store availability on January 1. For the rest, preorders will begin on New Year’s Day, with the collection hitting stores on January 3.
Pietro Beccari on the Relaunch
Beccari states, “There is a plurality of reasons and decisions that went into this rendition. I must say that we also came back to the subject with Takashi because we had noticed the wild rise of the vintage and secondhand market and that celebrities were spontaneously wearing colourful pieces, regularly bringing them back out of their wardrobes with a great deal of pride,”
He also states, “That itself was something quite exceptional at the time — offering exclusive products and even Murakami’s paintings, marking a unique fusion of art and commerce. This installation turned the concept of fakes on its head, with fake vendors who were real sales advisers selling genuine products from the collaboration. This creative approach went viral on the internet and contributed to the success of Monogramouflage.”
What Does the Takashi Murakami Collection Include?
The Louis Vuitton x Murakami collection, which will debut in two releases in January and March, includes more than 200 items, encompassing the brand’s signature City Bags and accessories like silk scarves, and notebooks. Sunglasses, fashion jewellery, sneakers, perfume bottles, and a skateboard.
The Monogram Multicolore is presented in 33 colours, appearing on handbags such as the Keepall, Coussin, Dauphine, OnTheGo, and Speedy, as well as on belts, wallets, wedge espadrilles, and the Rolling Trunk suitcase. The LV Hands logo can be found on Alma BB bags and a silk square, while the Superflat Panda decorates sneakers, keyrings, and a skateboard, and the Superflat Garden is featured on Attrape-Rêves perfume bottles and Capucines bags.
The Cherry Blossom motif will appear on Papillon bags, platform sandals, and the Courrier Lozine 110 Fleurs trunk, which comprises the second instalment launching in spring.
After Murakami requested a Vuitton Monogram Multicolore trunk for display alongside his “Flower Parent and Child” sculpture at the Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art last year, Beccari promptly agreed. At present, it is located in the Jardin d’Acclimatation, an outdoor leisure park for children adjacent to the Vuitton Foundation in the Bois de Boulogne, to the west of Paris.
The Original Louis Vuitton X Takashi Murakami Collaboration
The original Monogram Multicolore designs, revealed during the label’s Spring 2003 show under then-creative director Marc Jacobs, were an instantaneous success, embraced by “It” girls of the year like Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Simpson, and the iconic queen bee character Regina George from the cult film “Mean Girls.”
These designs generated over $300 million in sales within a single year. The collaboration concluded in 2010 and was gradually removed from stores by 2015.
Why is Louis Vuitton Relaunching its Products?
With a digitally-savvy generation embracing the fond memories of the early 2000s, items from the initial Murakami collaboration, along with subsequent lines like the Cherry Blossom and Monogramouflage collections, maintain a strong demand in the resale market, leading to a revival.
Beccari said, “We wanted to reach out to the generation who is not yet familiar with that collaboration, but who loves what was done 20 years ago and more recently with the Monogramouflage.” He adds, “We aim to navigate this challenging period, maintaining the momentum needed to uphold our brand’s values and desirability in the meantime. While our products may not change lives, they can certainly add an element of fun and create emotions. This collection perfectly embodies that mission.”
Takashi Murakami on the Use of His Designs
This marks a full-circle moment for Takashi Murakami, who pointed out that art buyers often acquire his creations appealing to younger audiences. He created the “Superflat” animated films with Vuitton aiming to connect with future generations. He dubbed Louis Vuitton a “cultural” brand. He highlighted that the luxury brand broke new ground by opening a pop-up store at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles alongside a retrospective of Murakami’s work in 2007.
He adds, “When I’m working with designers and collaborators, they work with my work and modify my artwork in a way that I can’t imagine or come to think of, so the reason I’ve been surviving for over 30 years now is that I keep getting new stimulation and inspiration through these collaborations. I don’t think there’s like a unified concept or process for doing all of these different collaborations.”
Zendaya Stuns in the New LV Campaign Donning Murakami
Zendaya, who has been a house ambassador since 2023, is featured in collage-like photographs shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, set against city skylines, roller coasters, and parks. With her hair styled in long blonde braids, the “Euphoria” actress showcases items from the collection, including the All In BB, Speedy 25, and Capucines Mini bags, while surrounded by Murakami’s vibrant Superflat Garden flower designs and his whimsical Superflat and Superflat Panda characters.
She is also featured in two short films. In a teaser, Murakami sends a retro-style flip-top mobile phone from his hometown in Tokyo to New York, where Zendaya activates it to reveal the reedition characters. The second video depicts her interacting and dancing with the animated images against the campaign’s backdrops.
Takashi Murakami on Criticisms Against The Louis Vuitton Collab
Reacting to the uproar on social media, Murakami added, “I didn’t receive any specific criticism, but what I noted was that my artworks that were coming up at auction for maybe a year after I collaborated, the price was going down.”
“Art is a medium that carries on after the artist dies, and fashion also grows once the story, the narrative, is woven throughout history, so there’s a time factor to this. So I thought, if I created the entryway towards this monogram world for the children, a young audience, that would be nice.” He adds, “It’s like what I had imagined back then: the children seeing that collaboration in anime, growing up with them, have now become the new fans of the brand. That’s what I was hoping for and it’s becoming a reality, so I’m really glad.”
Image Courtesy – Yokogao Magazine
Hi Ya’ll !!
I love writing about pop culture and all things queer.
Sub Editor at Abir Pothi
