Vincent Van Gogh, the Dutch impressionist painter as renowned for cutting off his ear as he is for his swirling French countryscapes, stares out from a bright palette of color. This isn’t one of his self-portraits however, but an interpretation by Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi brought to life with a remarkable 700,000 embroidery stitches on a Louis Vuitton Capucines bag. Available in a limited edition of 200 and released in stores worldwide at the end of October 2021, the Louis Vuitton Capucines once again invite the joyful marriage of art and fashion. The drop serves as an exciting date for devotees of the French luxury house who won’t miss the opportunity to snap up a contribution from some of the world’s finest living artists on the much-loved Capucines bag whose signature LV initials serve to frame the canvas.
This Louis Vuitton’s Artycapucines collection is a third collection and chapter for the bag, which has served as a canvas for over a dozen artists. This fall season sees Gregor Hildebrandt, Donna Huanca, Huang Yuxing, Vik Muniz, Paola Pivi, and Zeng Fanzhi take the bag through a metamorphosis that features Hildebrandt’s vinyl records with screen printed leather; Huanca’s hand-painted embroidery and piercing rings; a fantasy colored landscape courtesy of Yuxing; Muniz’s playful trompe l’oeil; Pivi’s gold-leaf gilding and leather marquetry; and Fanzhi’s Van Gogh.
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Named after Rue Neuve-des-Capucines, the Parisian street on which Louis Vuitton opened his first store in 1854, in the past, the bag has been lent as carte blanche to the likes of Henry Taylor, Beatriz Milhaz, and Urs Fischer. In an era when a reverence for storytelling and craftsmanship can serve as the guardians of sustainability and elegance, Louis Vuitton once again offers its clients an opportunity to take a deep dive into the world of art where women (and men) can showcase their commitment to excellence from one city hop to the next. “I think my work is primarily a conversation with myself; I stay in contact with and understand the world through painting,” mused Fanzhi in a recent interview with Art Review Asia. “If relevant political, historical, or social factors influence me, I will express this through my paintings.” And for those who can’t paint—shop.
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