Louis Vuitton A/W 2018

Scene setting: Louis Vuitton has favoured the Musée du Louvre for its show locations for the past for seasons. For A/W 2018, the brand looked to the Cour Lefuel for its runway setting. A stone-covered space constructed in the 1850s, it was designed by Hector Lefuel under the government of Napoleon III as an entrance to the palace for horses and carriages. Which is the reason why its most prominent feature, two access ramp, served as a catwalk for models… transforming into a beyond surprising Millennial Falcon-like platform. There it was: past and future colliding, overblown in the kind of fantastic way only Vuitton could imagine.

Mood board: A hybrid set for a hybrid show: Nicolas Ghesquière’s latest offering was a mix of historical opposites (a good reflection of that was evident in the front row, where French luminaries such as Catherine Deneuve and Jean Paul Gaultier rubbed shoulders with the likes of Jaden Smith and Ruth Negga). But then again, Ghesquière has always been fascinated by both historical costumes and elaborate space fantasies.

Best in show: Ghesquière decided pushed hybrids to the extreme: in his hands, a top was both a uniform for interstellar travels and a shimmering shirt. Evening combined ultra glamorous silk shirts decorated with silver sequins and colourful futuristic corsets. Edwardian jackets and vests were worn with space-age mini skirts and ultra sleek cigarette trousers.

The same went for the accessories: bowling bags had electronic chip prints on them, and classic Louis Vuitton shapes were reinterpreted in icy cold shades of crocodile skin. And yet, somehow, this felt like Ghesquière’s most wearable, down-to-earth collection in a while. One could easily imagine chic bourgeois women all over the world wrapping up in the collection’s bicolour tuxedo jackets or the gorgeous tobacco cashmere coats lined in shearling. It was all about equilibrium here. And boy, did Ghesquière turn out a remarkable balancing act.