The following statement is lifted directly from the project website (link at the bottom).
THE ICON and THE ICONOCLASTS is a special project instigated by LOUIS VUITTON to celebrate the iconic MONOGRAM.
Six renowned and creative iconoclasts, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN, CINDY SHERMAN, FRANK GEHRY, KARL LAGERFELD, MARC NEWSON and REI KAWAKUBO have each been given carte blanche to create a personally inspired bag and/or a piece of luggage, using the iconic MONOGRAM while keeping with the brand’s spirit of innovation, collaboration and daring.
Spanning, blurring and redefining the disciplines of art, architecture and design, this diverse and extraordinary group has created a unique collection.
The project itself was initiated by DELPHINE ARNAULT, Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton, and NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE, Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of Women’s Collections.
“When we talked with NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE 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. “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.”
“MONOGRAM is timeless, yet with this project we wanted to celebrate it in a way that defied the conventions of ‘classic’ says Michael Burke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Louis Vuitton.
These very exclusive and limited editions will be available in selected Louis Vuitton stores worldwide from mid-October 2014. THE ICON and THE ICONOCLASTS: A Celebration of MONOGRAM launch event will take place in New York City on November 7th, 2014.
In 1896 Georges Vuitton created The MONOGRAM, utilising the LV initials as a tribute to his late father, Louis Vuitton, who had died four years previously. Revolutionary in its time, The MONOGRAM is one of the first symbols of French modern design.The MONOGRAM pattern is composed of stylised flowers and letters organised geometrically – there is some debate as to whether the graphic design owes a debt to the neo-Gothic style or to the influence of Japonisme. The tiles in the Vuitton family home might also have inspired Georges. The MONOGRAM is now recognised globally as a defining signature, both literally and metaphorically, of the house of Louis Vuitton.
The website for this project can be found here – the ICONOCLASTS.