In the luxury world, bridges with contemporary art have created unexpected cultural gems. As Laurent Moïsi notes in Whitewall, these alliances "remind us that commerce can aspire to something poetic, provocative, and, above all, enduring." Here are ten remarkable collaborations, told with anecdotes and lightness.
Louis Vuitton × Takashi Murakami (2003)
Marc Jacobs brought in Takashi Murakami to pimp the classic Louis Vuitton monogram. In 2003, Murakami flooded bags and accessories with pop motifs: tangy cherry blossoms and smiling characters. He thus "deconstructed the house's austere heritage" while rising to global star status. This collection – a fireworks of colors – was a huge commercial success, reinventing the LV Monogram as a visual icon (and big "pop-up").
Louis Vuitton × Stephen Sprouse (2001)
In the early 2000s, Marc Jacobs wanted to shake up the status quo. He asked his friend, graffiti artist Stephen Sprouse, to "hack" the LV logo. The result: a hand-painted Monogram, blazing neon, turning each bag into an urban art piece. Jacobs described these models as "posh anti-snobbery" – a slogan that said a lot about the rebellious wink behind this street-chic icon.
Dior × Raymond Pettibon (2019)
Kim Jones, head of Dior Homme, invited the American Raymond Pettibon – a Californian punk legend – to illustrate his Fall 2019 collection. Pettibon created animal drawings (depicting felines, wolves, and wings) found on jackets, sweatshirts, and t-shirts. This punk/contemporary collision brought Dior a raw and iconic energy: roaring tigers flying over a suit, black-on-white drawings that scream "rock'n'roll" while remaining couture.
Gucci × GucciGhost (2016)
In 2016, Alessandro Michele broke Gucci's codes by inviting Trevor "Trouble" Andrew – aka the street artist GucciGhost – to cover the logo and accessories with playful graffiti. A former snowboarder who went viral thanks to his luxury Halloween, GucciGhost painted the double G in rave graffiti style. The GucciGhost pieces, unisex and offbeat, united "the two cultures of Gucci, past and contemporary." The union of logomania and underground tagging even gave birth to the expression "Life is Gucci" – a street mantra that says a lot about the "fun experience" of this collab.
Louis Vuitton × Yayoi Kusama (2012)
The hallucinatory universe of Yayoi Kusama took over Louis Vuitton in 2012. The Japanese artist covered bags, dresses, and trench coats with her infinite black and white dots, as well as her current star motif, the blazing orange pumpkin. Marc Jacobs, enchanted by Kusama's "endless energy," made this collab one of the most iconic since Sprouse. At LV, you can't escape the dots: these surreal models created a true visual "dizziness," proof that you can wear a work of art every day.
Fendi × Sarah Coleman (2021)
The young New York artist Sarah Coleman gave a psychedelic twist to Fendi's FF logo. For the spring-summer 2021 collection, she remixed the iconic pattern into a kaleidoscopic tangle, like contemporary stained glass. The resulting FF Vertigo pattern evokes a hypnotic vortex, between pop art and optical illusion. This collaboration "contemporizes" Fendi's heritage by giving it an almost hallucinogenic look.
Louis Vuitton × Jeff Koons (2017)
Jeff Koons, king of high-end kitsch, brought classical painting into Vuitton leather goods. In 2017, he applied masterpieces (Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Fragonard, Rubens, Titian…) onto iconic bags like the Speedy and the Neverfull. The legendary paintings appear in large format on Monogram canvas (you can recognize the Mona Lisa as a shoulder bag!), signed "Koons" in gold letters. The artist wanted to "erase the hierarchy between art and luxury" by making the artwork accessible… in the form of a Lady Bag. Guaranteed effect: you carry a museum on your shoulder.
Dior × KAWS (2019)
Dior also dived into Pop Art by inviting New York graffiti artist Brian "KAWS" Donnelly. In 2019, Kim Jones launched the Dior and KAWS capsule, joyful and colorful in spirit. The "Dior" logo is redrawn with a contemporary serpentine line, reflecting the "joyful pop energy" of the artist. Among the flagship pieces: Dior sneakers adorned with KAWS's Companion motif (one of his cartoon characters) and even huge statues on the runway. This collab literally mixed the elegant codes of 30 Montaigne with KAWS's street art style.
Louis Vuitton × Richard Prince (2008)
Another highlight at Vuitton, in 2008 Marc Jacobs had painted pulp-fiction novel covers by Richard Prince on suitcases and clutches. The Vuitton clutches thus featured American comic book covers customized by Prince – an ironic marriage between underground pop culture and monogrammed luxury. The trashy pulp aesthetic in the style of an art gallery was found on Louis Vuitton bags: a true pop visual shock that marked the late 2000s.
Dior × Hajime Sorayama (2019)
Finally, we end with a futuristic Japan-France dialogue. For his Fall 2019 pre-collection (Tokyo show), Kim Jones called on the Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, famous for his hyperrealistic sculptures of female robots. Dazzled by the Sorayama exhibition on his "fembots," Jones went directly to his studio to convince him to collaborate. Together, they created a wardrobe of androids and half-human, half-metallic objects: the silhouette of a 12-meter robot was even mounted on the runway, and a Dior "Fembot" bag became iconic. As the artist explains: "I describe this collab as two originals having fun together."
The vision of Les Folies d’Eugénie
For Les Folies d’Eugénie – a renowned luxury consignment store – these hybrid creations have a very special resonance. The company reminds us that "in our eyes, each piece tells a story and is part of a sustainable and conscious approach." In other words, carrying these collage bags means taking a piece of pop culture with you. Second-hand, they embody "sustainable luxury": wearable masterpieces, rich in history and craftsmanship. Les Folies d’Eugénie sees in these collaborations the perfect alliance between artistic heritage and fashion creativity, where each bag becomes a kind of (very fun) work to (re)collect.
Sources: Specialized articles in fashion and contemporary art. These references describe each collaboration in detail and illustrate its creative spirit.
