Photographed by Mark Iantosca.Collaborator extraordinaire Karl Lagerfeld (see: Karl Lagerfeld for Diet Coke, Karl Lagerfeld for helicopters) is at it again. This time, the Chanel and Fendi boss is teaming up with Louis Vuitton. Lagerfeld was joined by designers Rei Kawakubo and Christian Louboutin, photographer Cindy Sherman, architect Frank Gehry, and industrial designer Marc Newson for the fashion house's "The Icon and the Iconoclasts" project. Each name created a handbag and/or valise using the brand's brown-and-gold monogram as a starting point.
Women's Wear Daily reports that Lagerfeld crafted punching bags that each contain a "secret compartment" at the bottom. (Not so secret now, is it?) Gehry devised a tiny, sculpture-like bag that featured a miniature mirror, sharp hardware, and hand-drawn Louis Vuitton initials. Sherman probably replaced the initials, flowers, circles, and diamonds with her own likeness, but that's entirely speculative. The limited-edition accessories, priced from 2,000 to 4,000 euros ($2,725 to $5,450), will hit select Louis Vuitton stores mid-October. An ad campaign, special website, celebratory book, and launch event are in the works, as well. The whole shebang coincides with the luxury label's 160th anniversary.
Nicolas Ghesquière and Louis Vuitton executive vice president, Delphine Arnault, initiated this round of "The Icon and The Iconoclasts." (The brand did something similar in 1996 when it enlisted Alaïa, Manolo Blahnik, Helmut Lang, Vivienne Westwood, Isaac Mizrahi, Romeo Gigli, and Sybilla, WWD notes.) For this incarnation, the duo sought out several non-designers, "people who work with their minds and their hands," Arnault explained in a press release. "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." And, it's heartwarming to see Ghesquière get by in his first year at LV with a little help from his friends.