Louis Vuitton Cruise 2027: Craftsmanship Pops at the Frick

The last time Nicolas Ghesquière showed a Louis Vuitton cruise collection in New York, in 2019, he shuttled the fashion pack out to John F. Kennedy International Airport to the newly reopened and refurbished TWA Flight Center there. It was literally taking them on a journey for a season that is meant to be all about winter travel.

But for cruise 2027, the artistic director of women’s collections — well known for showing the seasonal collections at stunning and historically significant locales — wanted something more intimate and, ironically, city based. So on Tuesday night he invited fashion followers to the Frick Collection in Uptown Manhattan. The Gilded Age masterpiece had long been on his wish list of locations and this time he succeeded, perhaps helped by Vuitton’s new three-year commitment to the museum, which includes sponsoring free Friday nights once a month and supporting the next three exhibitions. While fashion shows had been held in the museum’s fountain-filled courtyard, this was the first time ever one was allowed to be held in its actual galleries.

Ghesquière’s show might not have had the Times Square megawatt takeover of Demna’s Gucci cruise effort last Saturday, or Jonathan Anderson’s equally extravagant moment at LACMA in L.A. a few days before, but in its quieter, more intimate way, it more than held its own. And as the subjects in the Whistler, Rembrandt, Renoir and Van Dyck paintings — not to mention fans and brand ambassadors such as Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Emily Blunt, Jennifer Connolly, Cate Blanchett and Felix — stared on, Ghesquière invaded the plush space with a blast of modernism, basing the collection around the works of Pop artist Keith Haring.

The flood of brands showing on the two coasts of the U.S. — Hermès and Zegna are next in early June — proves, if any more proof were required, just how crucial the American market is to the luxury sector. It’s really the only game in town as Europe remains relatively flat, China is still in the recovery room, and the Middle East is frozen due to the war in Iran.

In a preview interview, Ghesquière did not delve into the complexities of the luxury market, instead passionately speaking of craftsmanship, the atelier and the fabrics and techniques he used in the lineup. But it is clear from the length of his tenure — 13 years — that his designs have a commercial success that not might be as immediately recognizable as at some other brands. And he admitted that while as a designer he looks at the creative side, there also has to be a pragmatism to it because the results have to sell.

So what will be the hits for cruise? Lots — certainly the bags in various shapes and sizes, some twists on Vuitton classics and others wry winks to New York life (a sparkly Chinese takeout container, a record and more) or to Haring himself, such as one apple green one that had a drawn outline of a bag around its edges; likely the shoes, which were composed of individually piped strips of leather sewn together, a cross between a boxing shoe and something right out of “Star Trek,” and certainly the leathers, Vuitton’s forte.

Some of the looks and the styling may have been tricky at times (few women wear fezes, for example, or a short leather pannier skirt with multiple flaps), but the 55-piece lineup was one of Ghesquière’s strongest, focused efforts. He said he envisaged the Uptown woman heading Downtown, and vice versa. The opening look was a pair of jeans worn with a red knit top, which Ghesquière said he felt was uniquely American “casual.” The collection then progressed through intricately crafted leather jackets — many patchworked in the style of Haring paintings; satin boxer shorts; peplum tops worn with straight skirts; chic coat dresses; gossamer knits, and dresses with silk piping in patterns reminiscent of Haring’s famed graffiti squiggles. The colors were Pop-ish, from bright mango to vibrant lilac and deep marine blue.

The end looped back to the environs of the Frick, with a series of frilled and peplum tops that could have stepped out of a Gilded Age daguerreotype — but were worn with the designer’s take on multipocketed cargo pants.

The overall result was classic Ghesquière — a collection that was a studied examination of craftsmanship and materials within a broader cultural context that, when pulled apart, was filled with pieces destined to be collected and coveted.

Where will he take the fashion crowd next?