Louis Vuitton is back with the fifth Artycapucines collection
The latest Artycapucines collection transforms the iconic bag into an artistic showcase of five contemporary artists.
The Capucines, introduced in 2019, named after Rue Neuve-des-Capucines, the Parisian street hosting Louis Vuitton's inaugural store in 1854, has served as a canvas for 29 modern artists to craft an Artycapucines.
The most recent designs in the fifth installation, Louis Vuitton sought out five leading contemporary artists – Billie Zangewa, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Liza Lou, Tursic & Mille, and Ziping Wang – to reinterpret the iconic bag, standing as a testament to the collection's prowess in bringing together artistic brilliance and creativity, with the skillful craftsmanship of the Maison's expert artisans.
Billie Zangewa, a South Africa-based artist, employs intentionally imperfect patchworks of raw silk to construct landscapes and portraits.
Her Artycapucines features her 2020 artwork "The Swimming Lesson," depicting her son. This artwork is recreated using a combination of high-definition, trompe-l'oeil printing, expressive embroidery, and deliberately visible hand-stitching.
Polish painter, Ewa Juszkiewicz, has a deep fascination in female identity, decided to transfer her mesmerising and surreal 2021 work, "Ginger Locks," onto a Capucines bag using a high-definition print, enhanced by a string of golden pearls.
Liza Lou, a celebrated American artist recognized for her adept use of beads in both expansive sculptures like "Kitchen" (1995) and smaller, more personal artworks, integrates her nuanced and exquisitely textured beadwork into supple leather for her Artycapucines. The leather is then intricately printed in pastel hues and elegantly draped around the Capucines bag, forming a sculptural second skin.
The artistic pair Tursic & Mille, hailing from Franco-Serbian origins, channel their fascination with the visual overload present in contemporary society and the recontextualization of images into their rendition of the Capucines.
They transform the bag into a distinctive flower shape, serving as a frame for a vividly embroidered and coloured interpretation of their 2021 painting "Tenderness." This creation features a charred cedar wood handle and an inlaid Louis Vuitton logo.
Ziping Wang, a Chinese artist, stands out as the smallest bag in the collection to date. It is a delightful composition of leather patchwork and marquetry, characterised by vibrant colours and sweet candy-like motifs. This miniature masterpiece serves as a powerful commentary on our visually saturated and self-reflective world.
The current Artycapucines Collection boasts 29 unique designs crafted by renowned artists globally. Each individual bag serves as additional evidence of Louis Vuitton's century-long dedication to putting its innovative spirit and artisanal mastery in the service of artists and their imaginative visions.
The 2023 Artycapucines Collection, each presented in specially designed boxes, will be available in limited editions of 200 on October 12, 2023.
