Louis Vuitton’s powerful and multifaceted women are highly acclaimed at the Louvre

You have to go through a crowd so dense that it’s hard to see the entrance. The flock of young people eager to catch a glimpse of the celebrities almost hid the Louvre pyramid, designed by Yeo Ming Pei, against a blue sky that day that was sorely absent from this Paris fashion week. At the base of the Cour Carrée, a transient mirror structure reflects the Louvre in a fascinating dialogue between past and future. A metaphor that will soon take on its full meaning in the pulpit. As the black stairs of the building ascend, the intense natural light transforms into a subdued atmosphere. The excitement is at its peak. It’s the last day of Paris Fashion Week and the first day of a new era for Nicolas Ghesquière.

Last season, the artistic director celebrated the 10th anniversary of Louis Vuitton’s women’s collections. So this parade marks the beginning of a new chapter. In public, the stars are there. There are eternal muses: Jennifer Connelly, Alicia Vikander, but also Zendaya, Cate Blanchett, Jaden Smith, Noemi Merlant, Ana de Armas. Even the first lady, Brigitte Macron, came.

The Ghesquière touch

The show is about to start. As a prelude, we discover this pulpit, which we have turned around to sit on, but which we did not pay enough attention to. It is raised more than one meter above the ground and is made up of 1,250 inter-city structures, designed with materials directly from the workshops, forming diverse, colorful and luminous patterns. In the background, facing the photographers, a neon sign with 1990s graphics reminds us where we are: Louis Vuitton Paris. Music: a mix of 4 tracks from Jamie XX’s new album, In the wavesbegins with the sound of a rapid pulse, a buzzer sounds and the show begins.

It’s the hottest model of the decade, Mica Argañaraz, who opens the ball, in a striped gray jacket with puffy sleeves and buns that create a skater effect. It is worn over a black bodice, with long necklaces, and a waistcoat, from which straps like a rudely detached lavalier collar protrude. Things are laid out in silhouette. It’s unlike anything we know, and at the same time, it’s familiar. We definitely mention the Ghesquière touch. But the designer managed to surprise us once again. A decade later, he is not tired, but on the contrary, more innovative than ever. “Every time we start over, it’s weird, we start over with a lot of anxiety and at the same time full of desire,” he admitted recently during a cross-examination on Luis with his friend, actress Marina Fois. Vuitton YouTube channel.

Style, life, rhythm

This desire is keenly felt in many of this season’s innovative looks, which, at the risk of spoiling the show’s ending, were, shall we say, unanimously embraced. Vuitton’s new wife is not denying anything about what happened. He is rich in his experiences, his travels, his achievements and his crazy nights. She is at once a dashing bourgeois, a self-confident powerhouse, and an indulgent party girl. He walks quickly, decisively towards his future. In a cheerful atmosphere, almost a small disco, it has a multifaceted appearance. Sometimes mischievous in a short print dress with long sleeves enhanced by a voile bodice embroidered with shimmering hems. Sometimes he dares to restore the nobility of cropped pants, a feat of fashion. Or even the neo working girl in blouses, dresses or jackets with square shoulders, veil loose breaking down the overly literal side of office wear.

There are layers, sequins, mullet cuts and modest updos. There’s structured leather, jeweled bags, one-legged pants, fan clutches, cork-inspired leather sandals, and lurex fringe skirts. There are clothes and accessories featuring the works of artist Laurent Grasso from his poetry series Studies in the past. There is style, there is life, there is rhythm.

In the brief text that the house published after the show, we can read how soft power permeated the collection. “In its literal sense, soft power is also a fascinating oxymoron. Meekness or strength, or how to combine these two opposites.” This duality that permeates Vuitton’s spring-summer 2025 season is here at its peak. She breaks down the clichés of women that we would like to put in a box. It allows us to wear the outfit how we want and when we want, blurring the lines between day and night. And it feels really good.