Louis Vuitton debuts Postcards from the Future.

FASHION

LOUIS VUITTON’S POSTCARDS FROM THE WINDOWS EDGE

WORDS

by KRISTOPHER FRASER

PHOTOS

COURTESY of LOUIS VUITTON

What if each window in a Louis Vuitton was a portal to another world, like 12 magical windows to a different wonderland? Louis Vuitton is showcasing innovative digital window concepts to celebrate of the launch of the women’s spring/summer 2019 collection.

Created by artist and and designer Es Devlin under the artistic direction of Nicolas Ghesquière, each window symbolizes a gateway to a different city, reimagined as a living postcard from a moment not yet lived. There’s living in the moment, then there’s living in the future. Devlin said, “Now, more urgently than ever, deep in the throes of the Anthropocene era, we need to engage in empathy with the as-yet-unimagined citizens of the future. Each of our decisions will impact upon the streets they walk and the air they breathe. Once we perceive the network of Louis Vuitton windows as portals to other locations and time zones, we begin to practice this process of perspectival shift.”

Displayed in twelve Louis Vuitton stores worldwide, the installations include exclusive videos created by American artist Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann, who previously developed a selection of unique prints featured in the spring/summer 2019 collection.

Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue

“My main goal with these cities was to give an alternate look at the future that doesn’t assume the worst as you often see with science fiction,” Winkelmann said. “While there is still a long way to go, I feel like human beings are making progress towards a better future for everyone. I wanted to show future cities that showed all of the beauty and imagination of the people of the future and had a hopeful feel to them.”

Mannequins play a great role in the scenography, embodying the female figure which is seen here, not passive but posed in action, walking towards us, within an ever-receding environment: a re-imagined version of each of the twelve store locations, each seen in real time transforming from day to night in a 24-hour sequence. The Louis Vuitton stores are perceived here as a neutral network as well as a geographical network, uniquely positioned to ignite a global conversation and interaction.

“My main goal with these cities was to give an alternate look at the future that doesn’t assume the worst as you often see with science fiction.”

Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue