Louis Vuitton’s Bubble

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October 8, 2026

On October 8, 2026

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images

Tuesday, the last day of the Paris collections, and people surged past the Louvre pyramid dressed for a cocktail party. They were guests of Louis Vuitton. Some joined the line to have their picture taken before an LV logo, but most went straight into the Cour Carrée of the museum, where a runway was set up for Nicolas Ghesquière’s spring show

Whenever I walk into the Cour Carrée, and it’s not often, I think of the late ’80s, when two or three huge tents were set up on the cobblestones. Well, maybe the tents weren’t so huge, compared to venues today, but that’s where we saw the big shows then. Montana. Comme des Garçons. And people got dressed, too. I remember Bill Cunningham waiting for Isabella Blow to arrive in some incredible outfit or the Comme groupies. Bill was virtually the only street photographer at the time. And I guess you could say the groupies were not unlike brand ambassadors, except of course they paid for their clothes. They really wanted to have some of the personality of the designers they worshipped, and the clothes — and the paychecks they burned — reflected that dedication.

Ghesquière’s set took up most of the courtyard. It consisted of a low platform designed to look like a blacktop, and down the center were about 30 abstract sculptures of concept cars, some on the “road” and others mounted on poles, so that they seemed to be flying cars. The sculptures, painted in dark green, tan, and gold, with Vuitton detailing and high beams on, were not very interesting as objects. In fact, it was an ugly set.

Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, arrived shortly before 7 p.m., or about 30 minutes after the scheduled start of the show, and he was joined by members of his family, as well as group executives in the front row. That ritual gets repeated often in the course of a year of shows. It’s easy to forget that owners or CEOs of fashion houses used to rarely sit in the front row, and the Wertheimer brothers, owners of Chanel, still don’t. I usually see them in the third, and far from the media and celebrities.

Ghesquière’s opening looks — cream-and-white shifts, a long white cardigan buttoned over a silk slip, a silver-beaded camisole layered over a sleeveless acid-yellow T-shirt and worn with beige jersey slacks with mesh insets — came as a surprise, and not a necessarily welcomed one. For the past few years, his collections have existed remarkably and often maddeningly in a bubble of their own. He recently did a show based on how he imagined worldly women dressed for their hours at home; it consisted of a lot of ruffly styles and special fabrics. Last season, his clothes were architectural in shape; he was inspired by different cultures.

From left:Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
From top:Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

In other words, his work has not been part of the fashion conversation, as Prada’s or Chanel’s or Celine’s has, to mention a few brands. And this is Ghesquière. In the late ’90s and for all of the aughts, when he was at Balenciaga, he was the one everyone who knew fashion talked about, whose clothes had street credibility and caused envy in other designers. And he had some ambitious shows for Vuitton.

But while his collection on Tuesday may have reflected reality — simply because the shapes and the many lightweight dresses and separates were easy on the eye — it did not suggest much effort. We’ve seen minimalist collections from other designers that had more punch. And what did the cars ultimately have to do with the clothes?

Ghesquière was even slight on the accessories. In addition to some pastel and dark shoulder bags, there were three dominant shoe styles: black brogues, pumps, and low-heeled booties. At a time when Chanel and Hermès and other luxury brands are offering a visual feast, why is Louis Vuitton passing snacks on a strange highway? The whole scene, in fact, seemed woefully out of touch

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Louis Vuitton’s Bubble