Welcome to the 52nd insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode we look into the blissful collaboration between the Western and Eastern world, digging deep into the roots of fashion vertex - Louis Vuitton, and their work alongside Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami.
The Louis Vuitton maison has been synonymous with affluence since the dawn of the label. Notorious for their signature monogram print, the house had remained true to its brown colour palette for decades until the injection of Takashi Murakami in 2002. Marking not only the beginning to an artistic collaboration that would span over 15 years, it would also ignite a blazing fury of never-before-seen prints, mediums and stylistic endeavours under the Louis Vuitton namesake.
Walking hand in hand with Marc Jacobs (Louis Vuitton’s creative director at the time), Takashi Murakami brought life and a child-like sense of ambiance to the previously untouched maison. Murakami is a known Japanese artist that specialises in his personally coined artform, respectively known as “Super flat”. Within his work, the creative disregards the third dimension and instead works void of depth, accentuating focal points through colour and animation.
Our first taste of the artist’s spin on Louis Vuitton bound our taste buds with flavours akin to bubblegum and cotton candy, debuting rainbow monogram handbags in Spring 2003. Instantly garnering worldwide attention, the two further pursued their alliance in coming seasons with featured graphics like pandas, cherry monograms and cartoon figures, instating a “monumental marriage between art and business” -Marc Jacobs.
While the collective work was a commercial success season after season, Louis Vuitton’s partnership with the illustrator didn’t stop at leather goods. After the creation of Murakami’s “LV” emblem and the Monogram Multicolore, the artist was then commissioned to create “Superflat Monogram” and “Superflat First Love”, both telling a story of consumerism in the digital and physical world, directed by Hosoda Mamoru.
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