Louis Vuitton’s Exotic Spring 2017 Menswear
Louis Vuitton S17 Men’s show was inspired by the exotic wild beauty of the African continent and the escapism that adventure travel affords. Creative director Kim Jones incorporated the whimsical animal drawings of brothers, Jake and Dinos Chapman. The drawings known as the “Big Five” illustrate wide eyed safari animals with menacing teeth and crazed expressions which were printed on backpacks, coats, travel trunks and weekender bags. The light hearted collaboration was juxtaposed with punk references as Jones explored the theme. A red, green, and blue woven plaid accented with straps and silver zippers added to the punk vibe, in addition to the clear LV monogrammed raincoats and backpacks that came in clear plastic-latex. A dog collar known as “The Baxter” was slightly modified and worn as a choker on models which somehow perfectly complemented the clothes.
The remaining bomber style and mechanic’s jackets came in an exotic flurry of skins like ostrich, crocodile, or zebra print to match the other LV accessories and bags the models carried. Jones modernized the collection with the addition of electric blue to break up the neutral, sun bleached colors. The standout pieces from the show included a series of bright multi-colored mohair sweaters. The excessively fuzzy texture gave the models an animalistic wild-eyed look themselves. Louis Vuitton’s signature trench was given an over the top luxe treatment and rendered in crocodile with matching beige colored trekking sandals to match.
