Whereas the Capucines BB Analog (crafted with bespoke molds screen-printed with architectural imagery) pays homage to the sail-like forms of Gehry’s IAC Building in New York City, the Capucines BB Croc nods to the massive crocodile sculpture he installed in the London restaurant Sexy Fish, with the reptilian figure reworked as a handle and the creature’s jaws clamped on to the bag’s leather top. Capucines MM Concrete Blocks, another highlight in the collection, evokes the architect’s visionary experiments at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Other offerings draw strength and inspiration from his earlier collaborations with LVMH. The Capucines MM Floating Fish, for example, conjures the piscine light fixtures Gehry designed for the Fondation Louis Vuitton, while the petals of glass-like resin that adorn the Capucines Mini Blossom pay tribute to the floral stoppers of the perfume bottles he dreamed up for Vuitton’s Les Extraits Collection.
In addition to the Capucines, there’s the Twisted Box—a reinterpretation of the architect’s torqued design for the maison’s 2014 “Celebrating Monogram” program commemorating its 160th anniversary. The collection is rounded out by a sensational bijou: the Bear With Us clutch, a miniaturized brass version of Gehry’s 2014 life-size ursine sculpture installed at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
“The incredible talent and workmanship of the craftspeople at Louis Vuitton allowed us to realize our vision, especially with the more complex designs,” Gehry says, giving additional credit to his daughter-in-law, Joyce Shin Gehry, for her contributions to the project. “They allowed us to push the boundaries of form and materials. They were true partners in this voyage of invention.” louisvuitton.com
