Nicolas Ghesquière - Designer, Creative Director of Louis Vuitton

[blueorchid]

US Vogue September 2004
"Couture Club" by Sally Singer
Photographer: Annie Leibovitz
Fashion Editor: Grace Coddington
Hair: Julien d'Ys
Makeup: James Kaliardos
Featuring: Olivier Theyskens, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Alber Elbaz. Hana Soukupova, Raquel Zimmermann & Caroline Trentini




Vogue via justaguy

 

[blueorchid]

US Vogue September 2005
"The Magnificent Seven"
Photographer: Steven Meisel
Hair: Julien d'Ys
Makeup: Pat McGrath
Fashion Editor: Grace Coddington
Featuring: Stefano Pilati, Marc Jacobs, Olivier Theyskens, Miuccia Prada, Nicolas Ghesquière & Alber Elbaz
Models: Lily Cole, Gemma Ward, Karen Elson, Natalia Vodianova, Hana Soukupova, Eugenia Volodina & Lily Donaldson




Vogue via justaguy

 

[blueorchid]

US Vogue March 2006
"The Balenciaga Mystique"
Photographer: Irving Penn
Fashion Editor: Phyllis Posnick
Hair: Julien d'Ys
Makeup: Peter Philips
Model: Gemma Ward





Vogue via aracic

 

[blueorchid]

US Harper's Bazaar October 2005
"Back to the Future" by Susannah Frankel
Photographer: Peter Lindbergh
Fashion Editor: L'Wren Scott
Hair: Odile Gilbert
Makeup: James Kalidaros
Featuring: Nicolas Ghesquière, Maggie Cheung, Joe Griffo






HB Archive

 

[LadyJunon]

 

[reese06]

I stopped by NYC’s Printemps to see if their buy had improved, side note: it hasn’t. There’s really no reason to trek to FiDi just to shop permanent collection, non-exclusive pieces but that's another story.


That said, I did spot a gem, Balenciaga piece from Fall 2007 and it reminded me why I’m so conflicted about Nicolas Ghesquière’s work at Louis Vuitton.

I honestly can’t name many pieces or collections from his LV era that have truly moved me, nothing that, at a glance, makes my heart race or gives me that “wow” feeling. When I first saw the Balenciaga piece, my initial thought was, “The audacity of someone to copy Nicolas so blatantly.” Then I realize it was Nicolas and vintage.

What frustrates me is how unfocused his current collections at LV can feel. I find the massive budget might be working against him. His earlier LV collections had a stronger sense of direction, and while I sometimes catch glimpses of the brilliance he had at Balenciaga, I wonder if I’m just projecting nostalgia and convincing myself he’s still at his peak which maybe there is nothing wrong with that. I guess.

 

[jeanclaude]

I stopped by NYC’s Printemps to see if their buy had improved, side note: it hasn’t. There’s really no reason to trek to FiDi just to shop permanent collection, non-exclusive pieces but that's another story.


That said, I did spot a gem, Balenciaga piece from Fall 2007 and it reminded me why I’m so conflicted about Nicolas Ghesquière’s work at Louis Vuitton.

I honestly can’t name many pieces or collections from his LV era that have truly moved me, nothing that, at a glance, makes my heart race or gives me that “wow” feeling. When I first saw the Balenciaga piece, my initial thought was, “The audacity of someone to copy Nicolas so blatantly.” Then I realize it was Nicolas and vintage.

What frustrates me is how unfocused his current collections at LV can feel. I find the massive budget might be working against him. His earlier LV collections had a stronger sense of direction, and while I sometimes catch glimpses of the brilliance he had at Balenciaga, I wonder if I’m just projecting nostalgia and convincing myself he’s still at his peak which maybe there is nothing wrong with that. I guess.

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You are not alone. I echo the feeling that Nico was great at Balenciaga, but he is not great at LV.

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

The wow moments at Vuitton were under Marc. If you think about the nurses from ss08 or the funeral parade around the fountain from ss14... nothing of the sort under Nicolas.

 

[hamburgers]

I find the massive budget might be working against him.

Same I feel like sometimes he is designing for the back row in those gigantic venues. I share a lot of his obsessions and I like his purposefully challenging and dense take on French culture that only a French designer would do, but sometimes I see something on the runway and I'm just like wait is this how people enabled Cardin's hideous cosmonaut era.

 

[Lola701]

I stopped by NYC’s Printemps to see if their buy had improved, side note: it hasn’t. There’s really no reason to trek to FiDi just to shop permanent collection, non-exclusive pieces but that's another story.


That said, I did spot a gem, Balenciaga piece from Fall 2007 and it reminded me why I’m so conflicted about Nicolas Ghesquière’s work at Louis Vuitton.

I honestly can’t name many pieces or collections from his LV era that have truly moved me, nothing that, at a glance, makes my heart race or gives me that “wow” feeling. When I first saw the Balenciaga piece, my initial thought was, “The audacity of someone to copy Nicolas so blatantly.” Then I realize it was Nicolas and vintage.

What frustrates me is how unfocused his current collections at LV can feel. I find the massive budget might be working against him. His earlier LV collections had a stronger sense of direction, and while I sometimes catch glimpses of the brilliance he had at Balenciaga, I wonder if I’m just projecting nostalgia and convincing myself he’s still at his peak which maybe there is nothing wrong with that. I guess.

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It is nostalgia and he is not at his peak anymore and it’s fine. I don’t think you have to be at your peak to justify your work in fashion. His legacy in fashion will forever be Balenciaga.

It’s interesting to see that piece at that price there. Balenciaga for NG for now hasn’t explode in the market. It’s fairly accessible now. It will be interesting to see in 3 years, once he leaves LV, if it will be like Tom Ford for Gucci and some Galliano for Dior.

I find some of his clothes for Vuitton really more impressive and more exceptional (because techniques have improved a lot even if there was a cleverness in his execution of technical fabrics at Balenciaga) than what he did at Balenciaga. But there’s not a « Moment » attached to them.

The same way I’m surprised by how inexpensive some of the Marc Jacobs for Vuitton clothes are on the secondhand market, despite being attached to a moment. The accessories are a hot ticket but the clothes…no. And at a brand like Chanel, a random ski jacket from the FW2001 collection goes for thousand!

 

[tricotineacetat]

What I probably miss the most about the heydays of the early 2000s the most is how ‚not trying very hard‘ the best collections of that time felt, obviously having to do with how little the digital world was yet having an influence on how people consume fashion - Versus now, where most of what we see on the runways and in the ‚street style‘ tier end up looking very costume-y and people not really wearing clothes with a sense of effortlessness. Looks need to pop in the few seconds it takes to swipe through, which explains why a lot of today‘s design tends to be louder and more graphic in nature.

I‘m not really sure creating the most audacious (bordering gaudy) clothes of his career equals the biggest satisfaction or just what the market calls for but what Nicolas started to create as of the end of his Balenciaga days (and later Vuitton) does not click with me anymore - And I can‘t help but feel the dynamism of having a person like Bouchra Jarrar with a hyper pragmatic point of view in his team created the best and most timeless collections of his career. I would love to see a straight-forward commercial, wearable (and undeniably pretty!) collection like his Balenciaga FW'05 for a change but it seems every designer these days feels the need to challenge the perception of 'good taste', rather than to give their customers something that will just make them look very good.

 

[hamburgers]

I‘m not really sure creating the most audacious (bordering gaudy) clothes of his career equals the biggest satisfaction or just what the market calls for but what Nicolas started to create as of the end of his Balenciaga days (and later Vuitton) does not click with me anymore - And I can‘t help but feel the dynamism of having a person like Bouchra Jarrar with a hyper pragmatic point of view in his team created the best and most timeless collections of his career. I would love to see a straight-forward commercial, wearable (and undeniably pretty!) collection like his Balenciaga FW'05 for a change but it seems every designer these days feels the need to challenge the perception of 'good taste', rather than to give their customers something that will just make them look very good.

Weirdly, his clothes have gotten less physically demanding as they’ve gotten more mentally challenging. As Lola mentioned the secondhand market for 00’s Balenciaga has been very fair since the 10’s because the original customers either physically outgrew them or outgrew the fussiness of such tight clothes. Look at the sleeve story of FW05 compared to FW12 for example, which would you rather be wearing to put your phone up to your face and text with?

 

[tricotineacetat]

Weirdly, his clothes have gotten less physically demanding as they’ve gotten more mentally challenging. As Lola mentioned the secondhand market for 00’s Balenciaga has been very fair since the 10’s because the original customers either physically outgrew them or outgrew the fussiness of such tight clothes. Look at the sleeve story of FW05 compared to FW12 for example, which would you rather be wearing to put your phone up to your face and text with?

Point taken, although I find it a bit too easy to juxtapose the uber-skinny silhouettes and low waists of the early 2000s with the droopy, oversized tailoring most influential designers of today are favoring (Vaccarello, Blazy, Ghesquiere) - Perhaps that is the strongest asset of designers like Hedi Slimane or Jil Sander are about; Pattern cutting that is both precise *and* comfortable to wear, in a variety of sizes.

Coming from a background in men‘s tailoring, I can see what sets a men‘s and womenswear tailoring pattern apart - The amount of ease, the armhole, subtle additions of volume in places that enhance the comfort of a jacket without taking away from it‘s precision.

People like Cristobal Balenciaga, Azzedine Alaia or Jil Sander devoted their entire career to the perfection of the cut and maybe that‘s the difference with most designers working today, that it‘s more about creating seasonally very much changing fashion propositions that habe to look great in a photo or on the screen and less in an intimate setting.

 

[Caffeine]

I stopped by NYC’s Printemps to see if their buy had improved, side note: it hasn’t. There’s really no reason to trek to FiDi just to shop permanent collection, non-exclusive pieces but that's another story.


That said, I did spot a gem, Balenciaga piece from Fall 2007 and it reminded me why I’m so conflicted about Nicolas Ghesquière’s work at Louis Vuitton.

I honestly can’t name many pieces or collections from his LV era that have truly moved me, nothing that, at a glance, makes my heart race or gives me that “wow” feeling. When I first saw the Balenciaga piece, my initial thought was, “The audacity of someone to copy Nicolas so blatantly.” Then I realize it was Nicolas and vintage.

What frustrates me is how unfocused his current collections at LV can feel. I find the massive budget might be working against him. His earlier LV collections had a stronger sense of direction, and while I sometimes catch glimpses of the brilliance he had at Balenciaga, I wonder if I’m just projecting nostalgia and convincing myself he’s still at his peak which maybe there is nothing wrong with that. I guess.

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Hold on for a second - was this used or old inventory? How does Printemps sell "vintage" Balenciaga in general? Were there other vintage pieces there?
I share your sentiment! I put on a 2005 wool jacket this morning - a plain wool jacket...but the way he cut shoulders back then elevates the entire look! I love how I stand tall in them and the shoulder line just looks so form fitted. No one cuts like it nowadays...

 

[Caffeine]

despite being attached to a moment.

You said it. Literally for this reason, I think. Even though the clothes were so well made - better craftsmanship than today's LV, I think.

 

[Caffeine]

but it seems every designer these days feels the need to challenge the perception of 'good taste', rather than to give their customers something that will just make them look very good.

Yes!

physically outgrew

I have not physically outgrown, in case anyone wants to part ways with certain special pieces

 

[JohannesL]

 

[JohannesL]

 

[Melancholybaby]

This one is also permanently displayed at the V&A in London!


my photo

 

[style_expert]

I really miss his Balenciaga. It was definitely the highlight of his career. In particular, his shows at the tiny showroom on Rue Cassette were the standout of every season. I had the pleasure of attending a few at the time—it was entirely focused on fantastic fashion, with no unnecessary theatrics or gimmicks in the presentation (they simply weren’t needed). When the shows moved to the Crillon, the collections, too, became a bit more opulent but still remained in good taste.

With Vuitton, the stakes and budgets are totally different. Even though he has very few constraints or house-specific codes to adhere to, somehow his work there has never worked for me. It’s too all over the place—too many propositions, lacking a clear focus or overarching story.

I’m somewhat surprised his old Balenciaga is still relatively affordable on the resale market. Same for old Lanvin (both Alber and Lucas)