PFW: No cracks in Vuitton's Fondation

Louis Vuitton S/S '15; image source: style.com

If you're looking for another breakthrough collec-tion from Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton then look away. What you will find instead is a "definition of his cool girl," as the designer put it
in words backstage after the show, which sticks
to the tried formula from last season but reintro-duces some of the clothes in a new, seventies vibe - and a new venue which also happens to
be the Fondation Louis Vuitton building.

Shape-wise, the collection was a mash up from Mr. Ghesquière's first and second collections for the brand. Newcomer Jean Campbell opened the show wearing a long sleeved mini dress in white which looked like your ordinary knit garment, but up close you realized that it was woven from tiny leather strips which intertwined into beautiful patterns. This technique was the star of the show having also appeared in the form of blouses, jackets and shirt dresses, though not always as successful as the front-running look.

According to Mr. Ghesquière, the focus here was on creating wearable clothes. And he mostly suc-ceeded, as all those timeless topstitched jeans from Resort (this time redesigned in a slightly wider Capri shape), clean-cut jackets and peplum dresses in quilted velvet or covered in micro-sequins will be flying off the shelves come February. At times, though, the thick patent leather pieces felt too stiff (case in point: a striped A-line dress which creased in all the wrong places) and several pairs of plush pants looked too referential to the era that seems to had been the inspiration for the designer.

In the end, though, what's important for a house like Louis Vuitton are the accessories - and they can be described as delicious at least. Almost all models carried a bag: some were a reworked version of the classic chain flap bag in alligator skin and candy-like colors, some were quilted and then spray-painted in red and blue, one bag's suede detailing nearly gave it superpowers and another bag's red colored monogram on a black base made it seem bad ass. There was far less fuss about the footwear which didn't look as tempting, but undeniably complimented the theme of the collection.

For more photos of the collections go to Style.com and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

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