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Frank Gehry creates architecture-informed handbags for Louis Vuitton

January 2, 2024
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Photography is courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry has unveiled 11 limited-edition handbags for fashion brand Louis Vuitton at Art Basel Miami Beach during Miami art week.
Named Louis Vuitton x Frank Gehry, the collection contains bags informed by the Canadian-American architect’s buildings and by animals.
They were displayed at Art Basel Miami Beach in an installation featuring several of Gehry’s previous pieces for the brand.
Top: the bags were unveiled at Art Basel Miami Beach. Above: Capucines BB Shimmer Haze (left), Capucines BB Analog Bag (centre) and Capucines MM Concrete Pockets (right) were informed by Gehry’s architecture. Photo by Mario Kroes
For the collection, Gehry reimagined a trio of Louis Vuitton Capucines bags based on the form and finish of some of his best-known buildings.
The Capucines BB Shimmer Haze bag has a shimmering, translucence finish made from six panels of Plexiglas, informed by the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, while the Capucines MM Concrete Pockets bag was designed with a multi-layered calfskin finish to evoke the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
The IAC Building in New York informed the Capucines BB Analog Bag, which has angled-leather sections screen-printed with sections of the building’s facade.
Capucines Mini Drawn Fish (left) and Capucines MM Fish bags (right) were informed by animals
Three more Louis Vuitton Capucines bags were reinvented with the addition of animals, including a pair featuring fish.
The Capucines MM Fish bag was informed by a fish-shaped lighting feature that Gehry created for the Foundation Louis Vuitton in 2014. It was recreated in bag form with a multi-toned red fish made from leather placed on the bag’s smooth white leather exterior.
Alongside this, the white crocodile leather Capucines Mini Drawn Fish bag has a sketch of a fish by Gehry embroidered on it.
Capucines BB Croc bag (left) and Bear With Us Clutch (right) feature miniature versions of previous Gehry sculptures. Photo by Mario Kroes
The other two animal-informed bags feature smaller interpretations of Gehry’s previous sculptures. He reinterpreted a crocodile sculpture designed for London restaurant Sexy Fish as the brass handle of the Capucines BB Croc bag, which has a Taurillon leather exterior covered with an abstract yellow print.
While the Bear With Us Clutch is a bear-shaped bag that is a miniature version of the life-sized Bear with Us sculpture that Gehry created in 2014 and is now on display at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Capucines Mini Puzzle (top) and Capucines Mini Blossom (bottom) feature blossoms.Photo by Mario Kroes
Two further Capucines bags – the Capucines Mini Puzzle and Capucines Mini Blossom – feature colourful petal-like forms.
The Capucines Mini Puzzle is covered in hand-painted, interlocking petals made from lambskin, while the Capucines Mini Blossom has three petals made from glass-like resin that were informed by Gehry’s Les Extraits perfume bottles for Louis Vuitton.
For the final two pieces in the collection, Gehry revisited his Twisted Box bag, which was designed as part of the Celebrating Monogram series created in 2014 to mark Louis Vuitton’s 160th anniversary.
The bag, which features the brand’s monogram embossed onto a leather exterior, was recreated in black and silver.
The collection also included a silver version of the Twisted Box bag
According to Gehry, he aimed to experiment and have fun with the collection.
“It’s not something I usually do – handbags – so it’s a search for ideas,” he said. “Every creative person goes through that, it’s very similar to making a movie, shooting a rocket to the moon.”
“There are very various levels of creativity and the expertise you bring to it are years of experience and in my case I’ve built a lot of buildings so I can shorthand stuff – I’ve been having a lot of fun at my young age of 94,” he continued.
The installation included Gehry’s sketches
Alongside the bags, the installation featured numerous sketches and models of the architect’s work alongside previous items designed for the brand including the A Tea Party for Louis trunk, which was created for the 200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries exhibition, and the Les Extraits perfume bottles.
This article is originally available at www.dezeen.com