October 7, 2026 |
For SS27, Nicolas Ghesquière steered his Louis Vuitton collection into new territory. The king of futuristic tailoring and strong silhouettes turned to lightness, fluidity and almost-weightless fabrics. He called the collection Ergonomics, describing it as expressing “a sensation of simplicity — a quest for purity somehow”.
His approach was characteristically radical. Ghesquière is more used to finding ingenious ways to impose a bold silhouette onto the body (he even described himself as a “specialist in armour”), but this collection was about surrendering to the contours of the body, letting it dictate the final silhouette.
Jetsons-style flying cars hovered over an asphalt runway, as his models walked, or should I say wafted by, in light-as-air looks which came in subtle shades of smoke and vapour. Veil-like cardigans were worn over bias dresses, shirts and trousers segued seamlessly from sheer to frosted to opaque. The heaviest thing on a sporty silk jacket was the zip. Even the gowns came in fluttering layers of lingerie-light silk,
The clothes gave the look of minimalism, but it takes a lot of work to make something look this effortless. Cut and proportion must be forensically exact and the materials used were highly technical and sophisticated. Louis Vuitton has a formidable fabric development department. They must have worked overtime to create silks, leather and wools that possessed such extreme flou. The double face cashmere coats weighed less that a T-shirt, said the designer.
These are clothes that must be touched, felt and experienced on the body. They demand intimacy. They will also look different on each body that wears them. There’s something thrilling about that as the designer gives way to the curve of the body.
Ghesquière must be applauded for his relentless, three-decade-long quest for innovation. With this collection, he pushed himself out of his comfort zone and into new territory, replacing structure with a seductive softness.
Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
