Louis Vuitton x Murakami Has Officially Arrived
It’s been more than 20 years since Japanese artist Takashi Murakami collaborated with Louis Vuitton. He was recruited by then-creative director Marc Jacobs to produce a series of bags and accessories for Vuitton’s Spring 2003 collection. Murakami’s rainbow-hued Monogram pattern and original characters, including the cherry-blossom face, decorated some of Vuitton’s most iconic carryalls, printed on white or black leather in a way that imbued classic bags like the Speedy and the Alma with an instant rush of cool. It was the first time the house had ever allowed its legendary Monogram canvas to be altered.
Over the years, the LV x Murakami collection has become one of the most commercially successful—and sought after—fashion and art collaborations, with fans like Naomi Campbell, Kendall Jenner, and Zendaya routinely trotting out vintage pieces. Now, Louis Vuitton is bringing it all back home with a joyful new LV x Murakami collection for Spring 2025, available for purchase this month. The label has tapped fan girl Zendaya to star in the collaboration campaign.
As with the original collection, the new one is inspired by the Japanese term kawaii—meaning cute—with a lineup featuring Murakami’s take on the Vuitton Monogram in 33 different hues. The bags include the aforementioned Speedy, the Keepall, the Dauphine, and the OnTheGo. Murakami-print belts, wallets, and shoes, as well as a skateboard and a made-to-order wardrobe trunk packed with 33 Speedy bags, are also part of the range.
Murakami’s work has always explored themes related to commercialism, pop culture, and the notion of craft, drawing on elements of sci-fi, anime, and traditional Japanese painting—all of which helped make his creative partnership with Louis Vuitton so historic.
“Looking back now, I really feel there were various significances,” he says of that original collaboration. “At the time, I had no idea what kind of a brand Louis Vuitton really was, and I didn’t understand the impact of changing the products’ classic base color to pure white.” He adds, “But now, I can see that changing it from something purely chic into something colorful really made a big impact.”
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