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Designers Recreate Louis Vuitton's Iconic Monogram

Cindy Sherman for Louis Vuitton.
Cindy Sherman for Louis Vuitton.

Cindy Sherman x Louis Vuitton.

A punching bag. A twisted box. A bag with holes. You couldn't exactly describe them as typical Louis
Vuitton accessories. But then again, nor are the designers who created them.

This month marks the unveiling of "The Icon And The Iconoclast", a bold new collaboration between the luxury fashion house and a stable of internationally renowned design visionaries. Six style powerhouses were invited to design limited-edition bags and objects for Louis Vuitton, using its famous brown and gold pattern as a canvas.

The resulting collection is as eclectic and creative as the designers themselves. Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld, photographer Cindy Sherman, industrial designer Marc Newson, architect Frank Gehry, Commes des Garcons founder Rei Kawakubo and shoe designer Christian Louboutin all took part. Each was given carte blanche to take Louis Vuitton's iconic Monogram - created in 1896 and featuring the initials LV, a four-petalled flower and a diamond - and fashion it into a product of their choice.

"[The] Monogram is timeless, yet with this project we wanted to celebrate it in a way that defied the conven- tions of 'classic'," says Michael Burke, chair and chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton.

At first glance, it's Lagerfeld's creation that's most surprising: a leather punching bag, gloves and punching trunk. That's until you remember that Chanel's latest campaign featured model-of-the-moment Cara Delevingne leaning against the ropes of a boxing ring. In fact, look closely and you'll notice that each item contains subtle and not-so-subtle clues as to the designer's identity.

Take Louboutin's Louis Vuitton Monogram Bag, which features the shoe designer's trademark blazing red. Or Gehry's twisted box, whose off-kilter angles and unusual planes mirror those of his most famous creation, the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. Then there's Sherman's Monogram Messenger cam- era bag - a fitting choice for one of the world's best-known self-portraitists.

Though "The Icon And The Iconoclasts" isn't the first time Louis Vuitton has worked with artists (collaborations with Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami were highly successful), the collection is already being touted as one of its most covetable.

"When we talked with [Louis Vuitton's artistic director of women's collections] Nicolas Ghesquiere about the extraordinary talents we would like to approach, we simply went to those who are among the best in their fields", says Delphine Arnault, executive vice-president of Louis Vuitton.

"We were interested in people who work with their minds and their hands. I thought it was so interesting - and fun - to have all of these different points of view on the Monogram. It is inspiring to see how they envision things, to see their perspectives. This is a group of geniuses." It's hard to disagree.

Christian Louboutin for Louis Vuitton.
Christian Louboutin for Louis Vuitton.

Christian Louboutin x Louis Vuitton.

Karl Lagerfeld for Louis Vuitton.
Karl Lagerfeld for Louis Vuitton.

Karl Lagerfeld x Louis Vuitton.

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