Nicolas Ghesquière - Designer, Creative Director of Louis Vuitton

[Lola701]

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

I think it’s because he is still in activity. The early 00’s Balenciaga collections are still quite expensive in the resale market.
But also, a lot of collections, post 2006 were almost Couture level. So a lot of things around that I see are either commercial versions of more extreme pieces. There are few pieces from collections but in general, the stuff is quite rare.

For example I loved the FW2009 collection. It was the first one at the Crillon. I have a lot of commercial pieces from the collection and 1 blazer with the draping from the show. But the collection was insanely expensive. I remember the tweed embroidered tops were sold for thousands. There were collections that were translated easier at an accessible price (FW2007). And then there were collections that didn’t sold well (SS2009). But the merchandising was fantastic so there’s a lot of Balenciaga by NG around still.

And could I be a bit pretentious? Balenciaga by NG and maybe NG’s clothes aren’t easy to wear. They requires a little bit more confidence in a style to approach, particularly for stylists.

I think Alber will have his moment. I don’t think fashion now is about the type of easy sophisticated clothes he made. His touch is missed. He had a way of making clothes and use fabrics that has never been replicated. He will have his moment again. We are in a very snatched era and Alber clothes were very easy and loose even when structured. And you don’t dress down in Alber.

 

[Kanzai]

Among the most talented designers from the 2000s who are still active today, Nicolas is perhaps one of the more underappreciated figures when it comes to reaching the new wave of high fashion audiences, Theyskens is another one. As much as I admire him, I have to admit that his Louis Vuitton era is struggling to make a real impact lately, especially if he continues down the same path we've seen. I do have nostalgia for his Balenciaga days, but honestly, I’ve moved on, lol.

That said, my taste probably differs from most people here, I actually prefer his post-2007 Balenciaga collections over the earlier ones. They had the glamour, cliché retro-futurism that was so quintessentially Nicolas, and I love it. He clearly tried to bring those same elements to Vuitton, but unfortunately, it just hasn’t landed the same way.

Tbh, I don’t want him to leave Vuitton, even though it’s not a brand I particularly love. I just want to see the day when he’s once again celebrated like he was back in the Balenciaga. That would be the only motivation behind the younger generation revisiting those old Balen collections and going “wow". But it seems like Louis Vuitton is a brand that gets a lot of hate, often seen as nouveau riche, flashy, logo-obsessed, and lacking in taste. Nicolas’s Vuitton isn’t bad at all, but it feels like the brand’s reputation drags him down, which is just…unfortunate.

 

[PDFSD]

Among the most talented designers from the 2000s who are still active today, Nicolas is perhaps one of the more underappreciated figures when it comes to reaching the new wave of high fashion audiences, Theyskens is another one. As much as I admire him, I have to admit that his Louis Vuitton era is struggling to make a real impact lately, especially if he continues down the same path we've seen. I do have nostalgia for his Balenciaga days, but honestly, I’ve moved on, lol.

That said, my taste probably differs from most people here, I actually prefer his post-2007 Balenciaga collections over the earlier ones. They had the glamour, cliché retro-futurism that was so quintessentially Nicolas, and I love it. He clearly tried to bring those same elements to Vuitton, but unfortunately, it just hasn’t landed the same way.

Tbh, I don’t want him to leave Vuitton, even though it’s not a brand I particularly love. I just want to see the day when he’s once again celebrated like he was back in the Balenciaga. That would be the only motivation behind the younger generation revisiting those old Balen collections and going “wow". But it seems like Louis Vuitton is a brand that gets a lot of hate, often seen as nouveau riche, flashy, logo-obsessed, and lacking in taste. Nicolas’s Vuitton isn’t bad at all, but it feels like the brand’s reputation drags him down, which is just…unfortunate.

as much a si agree with allot said i don't believe LV reputation is dragging him down, its his custom approach that is to removed from pop culture and daily live that make his clothes to clownish and cheap. that was starting from 2007 already with his balenciaga becoming also more colorfull and less moody lacking restarian of early years.

its just to much of everything with no regard to movement of the human body or reality of live now even if you want to project it into the future.

he always played with bad taste and at LV he can continue as LV has a big populaire side to it which can be a beautiful challenge to address as marc did well but lacked in building an consistency in RTW especially

i think him being so long at LV shows that high concept can bring in progress and commercial success.

i just feel the clothes and vision is just to abstract for the sake to be odd or interesting /high fashion.

bad taste sells no matter how much we want to think or push other wise, if am honest i find NG as he got older got tackier over all and i am not sure he even is aware of this i feel he thinks he is being quirky and different.

 

[Melancholybaby]

But it seems like Louis Vuitton is a brand that gets a lot of hate, often seen as nouveau riche, flashy, logo-obsessed, and lacking in taste. Nicolas’s Vuitton isn’t bad at all, but it feels like the brand’s reputation drags him down, which is just…unfortunate.

Maybe but also maybe his arrogance is dragging him down too? His runway propositions at LV, in his quest to "challenge our tastes", have become more and more outlandish over the years, I can't imagine his vision appealing to a lot of women. His Balenciaga might have been edgy and experimental and forward thinking etc. but women could and did see themselves wearing those razor sharp silhouettes, there was a balance between fantasy and reality.

 

[Caffeine]

I'm not sure if he is intellectually satisfied by LV RTW? I was chatting with a musician last week. He worked for advertisement as a musician for years, because the money was so good. But it killed his creativity. So when he accumulated enough he just quit to re-start.
Balenciaga was so perfect for Nicholas partly due to the couture archives. He was inspired. LV doesn't offer such a resource.
Side note: Someone has to show up to make Balenciaga great again. Please do.

 

[Kanzai]

Maybe but also maybe his arrogance is dragging him down too? His runway propositions at LV, in his quest to "challenge our tastes", have become more and more outlandish over the years, I can't imagine his vision appealing to a lot of women. His Balenciaga might have been edgy and experimental and forward thinking etc. but women could and did see themselves wearing those razor sharp silhouettes, there was a balance between fantasy and reality.

Same could be said about Pieter’s Alaia, but he seems to be very loved by the crowd nowadays. His Alaia is very experimental, challenging women’s tastes, sometimes even gimmicky, which almost goes against the spirit of Azzedine, the designer Ghesquière admires. Rei Kawakubo wouldn’t be as revered if not for her very “wearable” yet innovative creations in her heydays, but unfortunately, today’s kids often misinterpret her and CDG as all about that “challenge our taste” avant-garde from the early 2010s to now. Ironically, those very “clownwear” pieces of her are seen as masterpieces by a lot of the current audience. Giorgio Armani, one of those gimmick-free designers, is still highly regarded by the zeitgeist today, because his couture screams "expensive" and those soft “intellectual”, soft “edgy” vintage men's jackets are sold all over the place on collectors' pages.

At the end of the day, the fashion zeitgeist is something I just can’t understand, even though I’m very interested in sociology and psychology, maybe I’ll ask chat GPT to explain it, but well, I don’t care enough to do so lul. Maybe, as you said, it’s his arrogance, because if not, he could’ve retired as a millionaire and lived the rest of his life with his bf Drew in LA.

 

[Melancholybaby]

Same could be said about Pieter’s Alaia, but he seems to be very loved by the crowd nowadays. His Alaia is very experimental, challenging women’s tastes, sometimes even gimmicky, which almost goes against the spirit of Azzedine, the designer Ghesquière admires. Rei Kawakubo wouldn’t be as revered if not for her very “wearable” yet innovative creations in her heydays, but unfortunately, today’s kids often misinterpret her and CDG as all about that “challenge our taste” avant-garde from the early 2010s to now. Ironically, those very “clownwear” pieces of her are seen as masterpieces by a lot of the current audience. Giorgio Armani, one of those gimmick-free designers, is still highly regarded by the zeitgeist today, because his couture screams "expensive" and those soft “intellectual”, soft “edgy” vintage men's jackets are sold all over the place on collectors' pages.

At the end of the day, the fashion zeitgeist is something I just can’t understand, even though I’m very interested in sociology and psychology, maybe I’ll ask chat GPT to explain it, but well, I don’t care enough to do so lul. Maybe, as you said, it’s his arrogance, because if not, he could’ve retired as a millionaire and lived the rest of his life with his bf Drew in LA.

I'm not sure why Nicolas is not as revered and popular among mainstream fashion fans...he wasn't super mainstream during his glory days at Balenciaga either. He was and still is admired and adored by hardcore fashion fans and the industry, but his name never went truly pop culture, his Balenciaga was maybe too edgy and niche and now he's just a cog that's part of a huge machine, it's only natural that the LV brand overshadows him, surely he knew what he was signing up for when he said yes to this job.

 

[PDFSD]

I'm not sure why Nicolas is not as revered and popular among mainstream fashion fans...he wasn't super mainstream during his glory days at Balenciaga either. He was and still is admired and adored by hardcore fashion fans and the industry, but his name never went truly pop culture, his Balenciaga was maybe too edgy and niche and now he's just a cog that's part of a huge machine, it's only natural that the LV brand overshadows him, surely he knew what he was signing up for when he said yes to this job.

he is to much up his own *** , in bets and worst way possible i find he lacks ability or interest to connect with live now in his work it's always a fantasy of an far away future but never lands on planet earth.

if he was smart he should have do the murakami in his own way for a show push it beyond its first inception its part of the archive use it to your advantage.

in this regard Pharrell is much more street smart he takes form anything past LV and does his spin no matter how recent and gets credit for it all.

no body remembers how much kim jones did or Virgil when you have the new version of it in front of you.

if i was a brand ceo or owner i would have rules in contract that different eras of archive should be re appropriated constantly in show collections not just as commercial tools , the house archive is what makes a brand have credibility.

thats what happened with the dior saddle bag that was originally from gucci ´s archive when so many iconic styles don't get to see the day of light any more and it returned with MGC because they could not pass the moment up due to its vintage revival back then etc

 

[Lola701]

I'm not sure why Nicolas is not as revered and popular among mainstream fashion fans...he wasn't super mainstream during his glory days at Balenciaga either. He was and still is admired and adored by hardcore fashion fans and the industry, but his name never went truly pop culture, his Balenciaga was maybe too edgy and niche and now he's just a cog that's part of a huge machine, it's only natural that the LV brand overshadows him, surely he knew what he was signing up for when he said yes to this job.

Because he is not putting himself out. He lives a rather quiet life, hang around his people, is not really in the scene…Even though most of his friends are in the industry. I think he was more out there when he was at Balenciaga.
Maybe the attention that this position attracts actually made him protect himself more…

I mean, they are doing a documentary on the backstage and he choose to always be in the background.

Because I know of him during his Balenciaga days, he is actually interesting. I mean beyond his designs, his entourage and even the people he chooses as ambassadors at Vuitton are interesting.

I think he is fulfilled like that. When you talk to people close to the Vuitton people, he is happy and they are happy with him. He is probably Ok with doing his collections and living his life, not being consumed by fashion.

There was a time when he was partying with Stefano and all the Andre crowd and even that is done.

I think people will only look at his work at Vuitton with a different lens when he will leave the house. People will see how ambitious it was to propose this kind of fashion at such a commercial brand…
In a way I find his work for Vuitton more commercial than what he did at Balenciaga but Balenciaga was De Facto elitist, more elitist than Vuitton. It was a bit of a pretentious posture at the time but it was also an era that enjoyed pretentious postures.

 

[carla56]

I heard voices that he asked for a sort of “corridor”/tunnel/secret passage in the LV building so he doesn’t have to see anyone… anyone knows if it’s true?

 

[reese06]

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...

It was curated from a vintage store.

I didn’t see any other vintage balenciaga but this piece was in a salon that was featuring JPG haute couture throughout that was available for purchase. Mostly the iconic pieces, gowns we are familiar with. Great gowns, beautiful gowns… I guess.

One of the pieces was $147,000 usd or around that mark. Was a waste of space imo.

I'm not sure if he is intellectually satisfied by LV RTW? I was chatting with a musician last week. He worked for advertisement as a musician for years, because the money was so good. But it killed his creativity. So when he accumulated enough he just quit to re-start.
Balenciaga was so perfect for Nicholas partly due to the couture archives. He was inspired. LV doesn't offer such a resource.
Side note: Someone has to show up to make Balenciaga great again. Please do.

I really hate the way he incorporates the luggage and references LV in his clothing. Weird tags, monogram patches and trinkets on what are already weird silhouettes and then you have a brown patch or trim which takes you out of the fantasy of it ever being Avant garde. The more I talk about his LV, the more I start to think I hate his design sensibility at LV completely so I may have to bow out of this discussion and put my rose colored glasses on.

 

[Alquimista]

Nicolas was always hermetic, cmon. He was never popular like Galliano or Karl. He did what he wanted and certain women followed. It's no wonder his muses are his friends - Connely, Charlotte.

What he needs to do now is refine the ideas, make them smoother, cut the fat. But I'm glad he is experimenting, challeging himself because NOBODY else is doing that. Fashion is going a high conformity phase. Everybody wants to have good taste, any sense of discovery, risk or rough experiment is supressed. Nicholas is the exception to all that, and I find it inspiring.

And...I don't think he thinks about Pharrel at all.

 

[Cocteau Stone]

I think Alber will have his moment. I don’t think fashion now is about the type of easy sophisticated clothes he made. His touch is missed. He had a way of making clothes and use fabrics that has never been replicated. He will have his moment again. We are in a very snatched era and Alber clothes were very easy and loose even when structured. And you don’t dress down in Alber.

Interesting you say this especially about the snatched-ness of now because even though we’re also in a shapeless state with clothes, the look of it all is very “snatched” and dehydrated. Alber truly was lightness. Even in his darkest and structured collections, he had such a wonderful touch with fabric. Truly missed.

 

[Lola701]

Interesting you say this especially about the snatched-ness of now because even though we’re also in a shapeless state with clothes, the look of it all is very “snatched” and dehydrated. Alber truly was lightness. Even in his darkest and structured collections, he had such a wonderful touch with fabric. Truly missed.

And mind you, Alber did those dresses that were kind of snatched, or at least that gave a fabulous silhouette. But it was never because they had a build-in corset. Everything was through the cut. Even something like shoulder pads came really late in his repertoire, he made tricks through cuts, using the thickness of the fabrics to create an illusion of high structure. Really genius technique!

I heard voices that he asked for a sort of “corridor”/tunnel/secret passage in the LV building so he doesn’t have to see anyone… anyone knows if it’s true?

You should see what the LV headquarters looks like lol. I don’t even know if they have an inside parking over there.
In a company that huge, it’s quite easy to not be seen lol.
Him and his studio probably gave a special badge that give them access to their floor. I suspect that not everybody in the building just have access to his studio. But considering all the teams he has to work with, I wonder how it would be possible for him to not see anyone.