One of the most in-demand Louis Vuitton bags till date has been the Capucines. Launched in 2013, the handbag still continues to be on top of every luxury fashion fanatic’s wish list. Leveraging the dominance of the Capucines, LV in 2019, released a special artist collaboration, called ‘Artycapucines’, for which Nicholas Hlobo from South Africa, LA-based Alex Israel, Sam Fall and Jonas Wood, New York-based Tschabalala Self and Swiss-born, NY-based Urs Fischer created a bag each.
Now, after a year, the French Maison decided it was time to drop a second collection of newer Artycapucines. LV invited six international contemporary artists to imagine a never-seen-before avatar of the Capucines handbag.
Oh, and each bag in the collection will be available as a limited-edition of 200 in select stores worldwide.
Josh Smith New-York based Josh Smith goes all vibrant and jubilant in designing the Capucines. To our surprise, the paint-like effect is the result of an extensive white-coloured stitchwork micro embroidered across the entire bag. Ten silver-hued staples contour the outer shell, just like the unfinished, raw edges of an artist’s canvas.
Jean Michel Othoniel Paris-based Jean-Michel Othoniel saw his Artycapucines as a couture interpretation of a summer basket. Unarguably, the highlight here is the large-resin beadwork that covers the bag’s handle. The canvas? It has been delicately woven in raffia and trimmed with hand-embroidered satin silk.
Liu Wei Chinese artist Liu Wei renders his savoir-faire of creating geometrical architectural forms to the Artycapucines. He thermo-molded different kinds of silver-coloured leathers and fastened it with metallic screws and LV-engraved rivets.
Henry Taylor LA-based artist Henry Taylor’s painting from 2017, A Young Master, is on a few Capucines bags. It is an expressive portrait of the late Noah Davis, who founded the Underground Museum in Los Angeles. Taylor used advanced laser-printing to reproduce this artwork on leather.
Beatriz Milhazes Artist Beatriz Milhazes was inspired by her motherland, Brazil’s vibrant and energetic art style to create her special version of Artycapucines. Eighteen types of leather and a whole range of textures and hues combined with gold-leaf detailing and marquetry techniques make this bag.
Zhao Zhao Chinese artist Zhao Zhao’s interpretation of Capucines is a beguiling artwork of more than three hundred laser-cut leather parts sewn together. 3D embroidery, embossing and silkscreen printing are a few of the many techniques he used to achieve the flawless, final look.
