It’s been just over a decade since Nicolas Ghesquière took the reins as Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of women’s collections, but the designer’s iconoclastic legacy at the maison eclipses all sense of time. In that period, the designer has imbued the storied French house’s DNA with his own instantly recognizable and confident vision—one that marries touches of modernism and futurism with a sense of romance, at once avant-garde and utterly of the moment.
Along with his deep appreciation for architectural forms—one of Ghesquière’s most recognized trademarks, evinced in his clean lines, structured silhouettes, and innovative use of materials—it’s his globe-traversing cruise shows, inaugurated during his tenure, that have become synonymous with the brand today. Destinations as far-flung as Kyoto, Rio de Janeiro, and Palm Springs have served as otherworldly stages for his visionary storytelling—opportunities to bring his locally inspired fantasies to life. Isola Bella, the small Italian island where Ghesquière situated his Cruise 2024 show, drew on the island’s lush landscape and marine mythology: Against the facade of the Palazzo Borromeo, models walked the runway in neoprene tank suits, midi skirts adorned with sequins the size of scallop shells, naval coats, and fluttering gowns resembling aquatic vegetation.
The designer’s cruise shows remain one of the sartorial set’s most anticipated events, but Ghesquière’s wanderlust-inducing influence in the category stretches industry-wide. Known to fashion insiders as a midseason recurrence with a practical purpose—offering new luxury goods to hold consumer interest in the lull between collections, sometimes without a show at all—the early and mid-aughts saw cruise collections evolve into an extravaganza of global runway spectacles.
Today, the globalization of fashion is nowhere more profoundly evident than through the exotic, off-calendar manifestations of cruise, in which luxury brands lay claim to sumptuous destinations, harnessing the immeasurable reach of high-profile guests to bring the rest of the world along for the ride. It also provides a rare opportunity for a legacy brand to freshen up its appearance. Dior’s recent showing in Edinburgh, for example, drew inspiration from Scotland’s mythology through medieval tapestries and folkloric symbols, tapping cult independent designer Samantha McCoach to craft bespoke tartans for the collection. Chanel’s 2024 cruise collection at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles offered the historic house an opportunity to dabble in the vamped-up glamour of Hollywood and California’s beach culture in the form of sporty—and super-short—shorts, cutout bathing suits, flashy, sequined accents, and ’80s-era fitness influences.
But it’s Ghesquière’s alchemy between fashion and architecture that has become the platonic ideal of cruise presentations. Take his 2016 collection—one of his first—which drew the fashion world’s eye to the John Lautner–designed Bob and Dolores Hope estate in Palm Springs, famous for its undulating structure reminiscent of a space-age volcano. The collection itself featured flowing maxi skirts, belly button–baring crop tops, and sleek, moto-style leather jackets cut with exacting precision. With the presentation, the designer, who owns a house by the late mid-century architect in California, demonstrated a gift for playing spaces and clothing off of each other to immersive effect.
Rio de Janeiro’s saucer-like Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, designed by legendary architect Oscar Niemeyer, offered the backdrop for the following year’s collection. An admirer of Neimeyer’s radical incorporation of structure with nature, Ghesquière noted the synergy between the 2017 Cruise collection and the setting for its debut. “What I saw most of all was movement and an explosive energy that lives somewhere between modernism and tropicality,” he said in a statement. “The main question was how to incorporate all these elements that are part of Brazilian culture, without forgetting that I am just a visitor who brings his own Parisian and French cultural references to the moment.” His answer? Asymmetrical hemlines, exuberant graphic prints, and shimmering metallic evening gowns to underscore themes of movement, athleticism, and Brazil’s colorful beach culture through a futuristic lens.
The symbiosis between the fashion and its setting holds true off the runway, too. Louis Vuitton recently announced a partnership with the city of Barcelona—after the brand unveiled its latest cruise collection at Gaudí’s famous Park Güell—that involves an ongoing cultural exchange comprising exhibitions, the launch of a local travel guide, and sponsorship of the 37th America’s Cup. Almost two centuries after the house began supplying the well-heeled with impeccably chic luggage, Ghesquière is reinforcing Louis Vuitton’s commitment to inspiring and outfitting travelers for their next adventure—wherever it may lead them.
