dot to dot to dot to dot....

This past week images from the "Infintely Kusama" collection from Louis Vuitton and their collaboration with Yayoi Kusama appeared all over the tinterweb and in various publications. Now I am super excited because this is the first collaboration with an artist the house has done since Marcy Marc and co hooked up with Richard Prince, and the eerie nurses took over the catwalk. In the fifteen years that Monsieur Jacobs has been at the Vuitton helm he has collaborated with a number of carefully selected artists and I am sure those of you who are aware of these collaborations, will agree they are always an exciting prospect.

For me this is mainly because I love the way that the artists always play with the monogramming on the leather goods, almost defacing the whole commercialism of it all by covering it up, or adding to it in a playful way. The collaboration with the late Stephen Sprouse involved lashings of neon graffitti which made the iconic LV almost indecipherable. I have only set eyes on one Richard Prince piece, and I adored the way that the classic symbols appeared to be bleeding colours, as if caught in water and the colours were all running down the leather. I t was nothing short of exquisite.

Now I am no Kusama expert, and I admit I know little of her work, except that she uses dots prevalently and to an almost devastating effect. Huge dots take over entire installations and artworks, creating an almost polkadot dream like world from what I have seen. The images I have seen fascinate me and make we want to climb into them. Kusama hasn't strayed from this theme with her Louis Vuitton collaboration, and I for one am glad. The model the house has employed for the look book appears to be a younger version of Yayoi, with her signture blunt fringe and sharp bob and the images create a childish, fun quality and just made me want to be little again. There is a cartoon like, Minnie Mouse edge to it all for me, which I like, especially since it is coming from a huge, luxury conglomerate aimed at polished wealthy women that is Louis Vuitton. I love that the handbags (the Lock-It that popped up in the A/W 11 leather infused show) have been attacked with dots in yellow/black and red/white and the monogramming is almost invisible, making the Kusama influence the focus and it looking almost unlike a Louis Vuitton piece. I adore the dropped waist, flapper-esque silhouettes of the clothing that are instantly wearable and chic despite the childlike prints and feel to the whole thing. I love the transparent plastics, and chunky gold chain on the baguette... and the Minnie Mouse goes luxe feel to the bow-detail ballet pumps and heels. The main reason I think I find the whole thing so mesmerising and enjoyable, is that it feels like the collection is poking fun at the fact it is coming from one of the most powerful players in Parisian fashion, owned by quite possibly the biggest luxury groups in the world, and for me that makes it all the more appealing. Almost like sticking two fingers up to the commercialism, and the idea of luxury goods houses... despite being the brain child of one.