The fashion show on the museum's catwalk looks to the future

Draped in elegance and artistic flair, Shanghai's Long Museum West Bund was transformed into a reverie parade for the Louis Vuitton Voyager show on Thursday evening, unveiling the Women's Pre-Fall 2024 collection. Under the luminescent glow of the white, minimalist architecture of the museum, a constellation of stars, including Australian actress Cate Blanchett and Chinese Liu Yifei, graced the event, adding a layer of celestial allure to the occasion.

This collection marks an important milestone in the illustrious career of Nicolas Ghesquire, artistic director of LV's women's collections. Celebrating a decade of creativity and innovation with the brand, Ghesquire continues to redefine the boundaries of fashion with his bold designs. The Pre-Fall 2024 collection is no exception, showcasing a fusion of traditional luxury with bold, contemporary sensibilities.

LV's collaboration with Chinese artist Sun Yitian adds a vibrant touch to the collection. Known for her photorealistic paintings of toys and other mass-produced objects, she collaborated on an exclusive series that colorfully enlivens the Prefall collection, spanning ready-to-wear, leather goods, trunks, accessories and perfumes.

The creations play with the opposition of short and long, refinement meets boldness, and classic prints mix in unexpected pairings, creating an exuberant expression of freedom in tone and form.

As models strutted through the museum floors, it became clear that each outfit was not just a piece of clothing but a statement, a narrative conceived with the genius of Ghesquire and painted with the vivid imagination of Sun, whose enchanting figurative bestiary breathes life and contrast into the silhouettes. clothes.

Sun created a whimsical assemblage of toy-like animals for the collection, including a pink rabbit, yellow duck, spotted dog, leopard, zebra, penguin and swan. These playful creatures adorn iconic and everyday Louis Vuitton pieces, transforming them into the latest collection series.

“This collaboration has been exciting from the start,” Sun said, “because it’s not just about translating artwork onto products; it’s about elevating the concept behind the art.”

Sun's artistic process begins with common “Made in China” products, items mass-produced and distributed around the world at minimal cost. These ordinary, often overlooked products constitute the main subjects of his art, transforming through his creative vision into luxurious pieces of great value.

Sun believes that creation and deconstruction are linked; creating something is itself an act of deconstruction. Through its partnership with Louis Vuitton, Sun sees a new layer of deconstruction: the reimagining of everyday objects into objects of opulence and desire.

“Through this collaboration,” she said, “the images in my work undergo another transformation, another deconstruction, transforming these modest, inexpensive objects into authentic luxury products.” This process highlights the dual nature of his work, challenging perceptions of value and art in a modern context.

“The connection between the canvas paintings and the viewer is somewhat static and silent, a form of observation with a certain distance,” Sun said. “However, when my works are translated into clothes, bags or perfumes, they come much closer to people, and this interaction is lively and unpredictable. It creates a relationship of egalitarian use.”

In recent years, China has become a central stage for Louis Vuitton's fashion showcases. Since 2020, the brand has held four major events across the country: an open-air men's show in 2020 on Shanghai's West Bund, a women's show in 2021 on the banks of the Huangpu River, an “offshoot” men's show in Aranya Golden Beach in Beidaihe, and Pharrell Williams' first pre-fall collection presented in Hong Kong last November.

Complementing the Shanghai Voyager Show, Louis Vuitton also had a playful visual impact on the Shanghai cityscape. The facade of the K11 building is surrounded by a giant yellow duck, and brightly colored posters depicting a spotted dog, a leopard, a zebra and a penguin enliven the streets of Shanghai's bustling neighborhoods. These installations, featuring the collection's enlarged and fanciful animals, inject a vibrant, youthful energy into the city.