The California sun – a guest of honor at the Louis Vuitton 2023 Cruise show

 Nicolas Ghesquière presented his Louis Vuitton Cruise 2023 Collection at the Salk Institute in California.

Louis Vuitton debuts Cruise collection in California.

Louis Vuitton presented its 2023 Cruise Collection at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, San Diego County, California. Nicolas Ghesquière, Artistic Director of Women’s Collections says the extraordinary setting is a source of endless inspiration. The California sun was a guest of honor at the show, playing an active part in the evolution of the wardrobe. The unique West Coast sunset created a prism through the silhouettes, heightened by metallic fabrics. Desert tones amplified contrasts between structured looks and fluid draping, a metaphor for the interplay of technology and the earth.

“I wanted the clothes to be like reflections, a point of contact between light and people.” – Nicolas Ghesquière

As if on a utopian crossing, the collection can be seen to either celebrate the sun or provide protection from it. From looks that evoke a desert-climate to metal tones that reflect solar rays, Nicolas Ghesquière explores the contrast between structured constructions and fluid draping, between technology and the earth.

Designed by Louis Kahn in 1965, this architectural masterpiece and source of inspiration for the 2023 Cruise Collection resonates with Louis Vuitton’s artistic ethos. It joins other exceptional settings that have been part of the Maison’s architectural journey in recent years: the Bob and Dolores Hope Estate designed by John Lautner in Palm Springs, California (2015); the MAC by Oscar Niemeyer in Niteroi, Brazil (2016); the Miho Museum by Ieoh Ming Pei outside Kyoto, Japan (2017); and the TWA Flight Center by Eero Saarinen at JFK airport in New York (2019).