Nicolas Ghesquière Marks 10 Years at Louis Vuitton with Grand Louvre Show

On March 5, in the Cour Carrée of the Louvre, Nicolas Ghesquière celebrated a decade of reign at Louis Vuitton by closing Fashion Week with an exceptional Autumn-Winter 2024-2025 collection.

On Tuesday, March 5 in Paris, at 4 p.m., there was widespread panic: Meta announced that its services - Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram - were experiencing a global outage. The social networks were sluggish, and users were complaining. By 6 p.m., everything was back to normal, as if the web giant had made a special effort to ensure that Louis Vuitton, whose show was scheduled an hour later, could stream its collection to the entire world.

Before diving into the details of Balenciaga's collection, we recommend you explore our article showcasing Chloé's Fall/Winter Collection for 2024/2025.

The luxury giant's teams could breathe a sigh of relief. The most anticipated show of Fashion Week, celebrating Nicolas Ghesquière's 10 years at the helm of the women's ready-to-wear collections, was ready to begin. In the Cour Carrée of the Louvre, no fewer than 4,000 guests were expected. The celebrity guest list for the front row was as long as a never-ending day: from Cate Blanchett to Catherine Deneuve, including Sandra Hüller, Lisa from Blackpink, Jennifer Connelly, Zaho de Sagazan, Léa Seydoux, Emma Stone, Marina Fois, Lily Collins, Eve Jobs (the daughter of Apple's co-founder), Sophie Turner, Sarah Paulson, and others.

Back to the Future

All these prestigious guests entered a huge, futuristic greenhouse, beneath a metallic structure reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower, where large, flying saucer-like chandeliers that lit up intermittently were interconnected by electrical cables. The scenography was designed by Philippe Parreno, a visual artist, in collaboration with the movie set designer, James Chinlund. Welcome, then, to Nicolas Ghesquière's fourth dimension. This designer, born a few years after the first moon landing, grew up in an era imbued with space travel and has become a visionary fashion genius fascinated by futuristic fields. In harmony with Louis Vuitton's travel-centric philosophy, he has been defining his vision of avant-garde, boundaryless femininity in ready-to-wear fashion for ten years. His fashion is always innovative, flawlessly precise, and each season introduces iconic looks and accessories.

A small text awaited the guests on their seats, penned by Nicolas Ghesquière. “This is a special evening," he wrote, "an important night. Ten years ago, you attended my first show for Louis Vuitton... Ten years later, this evening is a new morning... I wanted to continue this inspiring saga that's open to the future and to the world, the philosophy of Louis Vuitton. It’s a beautiful journey. I am continuing it.” So it was declared. On the runway, a mix of references, eras, materials, and cuts came together in a sportswear chic dynamic that was both futuristic and sophisticated, igniting sparks in the audience's eyes.

The Conquerors

The show opened with athletic girls (including Jung Hoyeon, the star actress from Squid Game and ambassador of the house) dressed all in white, sporting technical high-necked jackets with feathers at the wrists over utilitarian mini skirts. They wore zippered boots, beaded headbands, or rhinestone-studded eyeglasses, playing a first science-fiction score, then launched into transparent mermaid dresses embroidered with silver discs over ribbed knit tights, their hands covered by yeti-like boxing gloves, giving them a very conquering look.

Hybrid astronaut jumpsuits in silver were seen alongside very chic structured neoprene jackets, aristocratic tailcoat coats were paired with long draped dresses, and extremely voluminous petticoats from another era were worn with white t-shirts and jackets marked by graphic stripes. The atmosphere had a hint of Blade Runner, a touch of Stranger Things (Millie Bobby Brown, the show's star, was also in the front row), and a post-feminist momentum as well, reminiscent of the "pussyhat" worn by American anti-Trump women. A luxuriously baroque breeze blew as well, with opulent spotty faux fur accents warming t-shirts and scarf-tipped skirts, sublimely embroidered bolero jackets worn over brightly colored leather mini skirts, or brocade silk gold K-Way style pant and blouse sets. Felix, a member of the South Korean group Stray Kids and new ambassador for the brand, walked the runway, further electrifying the room in his futuristic sportswear outfit.

Standing Ovation

In the finale, long asymmetrical tank dresses mixed with feathers and twisted with pop-colored booties delighted the audience. Nicolas Ghesquière took a bow to a standing ovation. Meta continued to function, and the first posts began to flood in. The energy of the show electrified everyone all the way to the exit in the rain, with compliments flying from all sides. Outside, the illuminated Louvre Pyramid winked at the guests.