23-05-2025
Louis Vuitton and the Avignon mademoiselles
Louis Vuitton made a stop in southern France for its latest Cruise show. On the evening of May 22, the house staged its 2026 Cruise collection in the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes in Avignon. This was the first time this monumental Gothic building, whose construction began in 1335 and which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, hosted a fashion show.
The choice did not please everyone. Several groups staged demonstrations in front of the monument on the afternoon of Saturday, May 17, holding up placards. Led by the CGT Spectacle (the entertainment branch of the labor union), Extinction Rebellion and Attac, protestors raised concerns about the working conditions of the contract workers involved in the show, as well as the environmental damage caused by the event. The privatization of the surrounding neighborhood for several days before the show also heightened tensions.
However, the event offered benefits to both the region and the city. Beyond the global spotlight such an event brings to the chosen venue, it generated real economic impact. More than 2,000 hotel rooms were booked for the two days of festivities, accommodating the brand's teams, technicians and 450 guests. Louis Vuitton also pledged to help fund the Palais des Papes's new lighting project, approved by the municipal council in September 2024 and estimated at €2 million.
The choice of the Palais des Papes continued Nicolas Ghesquière's fascination with unique architecture. The creative director of the house's womenswear collections has previously staged cruise shows in visually striking venues: in France, at the Axe Majeur in Cergy-Pontoise (in the Paris region) in 2021 and the gardens of the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence (on the Riviera) in 2018. Abroad, he has chosen the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói, designed by Oscar Niemeyer in Brazil in 2016; the Miho Museum by Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei in Japan in 2017; and the modernist estate of actor Bob Hope (1903-2003) in Palm Springs, California, in 2015.
"The Palais des Papes is an extraordinary place. I have been thinking about it for a show for a long time. There are so many historically rich places in France; we don't always need to seek out far-flung destinations. When I returned there some time ago with my partner [the American actor Drew Kuhse], I saw such amazement in his eyes! As French people, we sometimes forget that these places exist here at home," the designer said just minutes before the show began.
High, supple boots
Cruise collections are not just an opportunity to inspire and transport clients. The stakes for these mid-season lines are significant: They remain on store racks the longest, sometimes for up to eight months, making them more important for sales than other collections. The financial crisis currently facing the luxury industry has spared none of its key players, not even leaders. LVMH's net profit dropped 17% to €12.6 billion for the 2024 fiscal year.
"This collection was inspired not only by the history of the venue, which evokes the chivalric and medieval eras, but also by the idea of stage and performance. Avignon is a cradle of fantastic culture. I have many memories of the festival, when the city suddenly becomes devoted to artists. I saw works there by Bill Viola, Christian Boltanski and Pina Bausch," Ghesquière recalled. Created in 1947 by Jean Vilar (1912-1971), the Festival d'Avignon, held each summer, is one of the world's largest theater and performing arts events.
Designed by British artist Es Devlin, the show's set design evoked the concept of spectacle. In the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes, the audience was seated at the center of a stage, facing rows of empty red velvet stands. The models circled the guests. Among the attendees were actresses Alicia Vikander, Emma Stone and Cate Blanchett, as well as Pharrell Williams – attending as a colleague, as he heads Louis Vuitton's menswear – and France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, a longtime supporter of the brand.
The collection, rich in ideas, skillfully blended different worlds and eras. To the song "Excalibur" by William Sheller (1989), medieval and knightly silhouettes appeared in velvet-sequined shift dresses paired with high, supple boots; short capes in felted cashmere patchwork; gleaming jacquard dresses reminiscent of court tapestries; and flowing knit dresses with breastplates covered in silver chains.
Stage costumes evoked the spirit of Keith Richards or David Bowie. There was a rock star edge to cropped, zippered leather jackets and suits with metallic blazers or paisley prints. Some pieces, richly decorated and finely crafted, bordered on haute couture, such as short dresses made entirely from embroidered silk petals. By mixing references – historic and contemporary – Ghesquière, known for his love of science fiction, avoided glaring anachronisms by cleverly blurring the lines.
While the world of luxury and fashion has never been so unsettled – a dozen new creative directors will debut on the runways in September and October, including Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, the Proenza Schouler duo at Loewe and Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga – Ghesquière has stayed his course. Appointed at Louis Vuitton in 2013 after 15 years at Balenciaga, he renewed his contract for another five years in 2023. How does he view the changes coming to his competitors? "It's very exciting! Paris Fashion Week is going to be incredibly strong, and that's what we want, isn't it? It's galvanizing!" Absolutely.
