On May 28, Louis Vuitton premiered its 2017 Resort collection in Rio with many notable celebrities in attendance.
The exclusive Louis Vuitton show was reminiscent of a futuristic cruise. Guests sat on makeshift seats and benches crafted from eclectic painted crates. , the annual Resort show was held in the Palm Springs home of Bob Hope and brought in celebrities to the likes of Kanye West and Catherine Deneuve.
Director of the House of Louis Vuitton, Nicholas Ghesquiere, presented his designs at Brazil’s Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, which sat on a cliff overlooking the beach, mountains and city of Rio. The designs were sporty, yet glamorous – and reflected the distinctive and colorful culture of Brazil. You could easily get away with rocking these fits to a punk rock band or strutting the streets of NYC. The model lineup was diverse in every aspect, in all shades and hairstyles. The spectrum ranged from redheads to buzz cuts and pink wigs to natural curls.
Though, the collection wasn’t exactly cohesive, as one model was dressed in a sporty dress and the model that followed wore Louis Vuitton’s take on the skirt suit. Ghesquiere brought us back to the 90s as opposed to the modern world designs we assumed we’d be privy too. Who knew that futuristic gladiator sandals paired with mismatched ruffled dresses would be entering into 2016.
said of one design “these shoes that looked like some flip flops and a pair of Yeezys got together and made a baby.” While the ambiance may have been hyper-modern, the designs attempted to, but were not. What Ghesquiere did succeed in doing was merging tropical and urban themes together to create a style unforeseen until now.
In attendance, were Louis Vuitton regulars Zendaya, Alicia Vikander, Alessandra Ambrosio and Jaden Smith, who was the face of the controversial Louis Vuitton in 2015.
While celebrities were being flown out to the secluded presentation, Brazil was experiencing its own controversy in the midst of the 2016 Olympics. The Zika Virus, which is now a public health emergency, is running rampant in Brazil and many are pushing for the Summer Olympic Games to be postponed. When asked by AP’s Jenny Barchfield about the criticisms, Ghesquière said, “It’s good to give a strong message to people and to say we are not scared. We are able to travel with our ideas. It’s an economical consideration to do a show in a country like Brazil, but it’s also a cultural proposition.”