Louis Vuitton's Lunar Landing

Sally Ride, Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell

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In a striking new visual by Annie Leibovitz, Louis Vuitton highlighs the 4oth anniversary of the moon landing by bringing together three giants of space exploration: Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot upon the Moon; Jim Lovell, who guided his crew back to Earth as the commander of Apollo 13; and Sally Ride, who in 1983 became the first American woman to enter space.

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Shot in the California desert, the three astronauts stare knowingly at the sky from a battered pickup truck, and just happen to have brought along an LV Icare travel bag in Monogram canvas. The tag line echoes Neil Armstrong’s 1969 quote: “Some journeys change mankind forever.”

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Ummm, this is all well and good but since when does Louis Vuitton care about events in American history? Word is that LV has decided to shift its focus to “core values.” Right, because luxury handbags are about as American as apple pie and space travel. Sounds like a "survive the recession" tactic if I've ever heard one.

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Anyhoo, you can experience more at www.louisvuittonjourneys.com.

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Kanye for LV

Kanye and his arm candy du jour Amber Rose (hot) have been captured in photos for Mr. West's recent collabo with Louis Vuitton - a line of monochrome, leather, and suede sneakers. Fresh. Mere mortals can get their hands on a pair in June, although Kanye has been rocking his for months. Photos by Steve Shaw.



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It's Beginning to Look a lot like Louis

How fabulously festive! The Louis Vuitton flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York City has been gift wrapped in Takashi Murakami's signature Monogram Multicolore print for the holidays. The vinyl installation of the now legendary print is signed by Murakami himself. According to Daniel Lalonde, president and CEO of Louis Vuitton North America, the idea “came about earlier this year in an effort to do something truly unique for the holiday season" and "the store’s white and glass facade lends itself to a variety of creative ideas.”

Planning your holiday visit? Make sure to stop by the newly opened “Bag Bar” on the flagship's mezzanine level. Designed by Peter Marino and Advanced Animations, it features moving display fixtures that highlight a multitude of handbags. Perfect for getting drunk on LV!

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Louis Vuitton doesn't care about black people

Paris? Is that you?

Controversial Danish artist Nadia Plesner is being sued by Louis Vuitton for copyright infringement as a result of her Simple Living campaign, which is meant to raise money and awareness around the genocide in Darfur. The campaign features a stirring image that really illustrates the nonsensical world we live in, where in the midst of the ongoing genocide of an entire nation of people, the mainstream media would rather provide Breaking News updates everytime Paris Hilton falls or farts.

I agree with Miss Brigette. Really, LV, your bags have already been (and will continue to be) knocked off left, right, up, down and center. Why not establish some goodwill by using those legal fees to make a donation to an organization that's helping Darfur?

You can buy a t-shirt or poster with the image and help out the cause, here.

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© Murakami

© Murakami, a major retrospective of the work of celebrated artist Takashi Murakami, opens today at the Brooklyn Museum. Called Japan's Andy Warhol, Murakami's work has been labeled as "pop art" for its intense cartoon imagery and relation to pop culture. Last night, the truly fabulous (including Marc Jacobs and Jay-Z) feted the collection at the Brooklyn Ball, which featured a performance by the Louis Vuitton don himself, Kanye West. Yeah, this exhibit is kind of a big deal. So I made it my business to attend the sneak press preview on Wednesday. So glad I did! It is a joyous exhibition of more than 90 works in 18,500 square feet of gallery space. I was only really familiar with Murakami's famed designs for Louis Vuitton, and his out-of-this-world album art for Kanye's "Graduation." I now know these were actually just the tip of the iceberg.

Um...yeah.

The show's title, (Copyright) Murakami, is meant to express the idea of protecting intellectual property. It's no wonder the artist is extra sensitive about the topic of keeping original ideas safe, as his designs for LV are probably the most bootlegged bags of all time. His collaboration with Artistic Director Marc Jacobs for the Louis Vuitton 2003 Spring/Summer collection spawned the now classic colorful Monogram bags in white and black, often dotted with his signature jellyfish eyes...

...and later that year, the Monogram Cherry Blossom line...


...and the Monogram Cerise pattern in 2005.

I have been a tad "over" LV in recent seasons, probably due to counterfeits of the above oversaturating the market. But one foot into the fully operational and beautiforous Louis Vuitton store that accompanies the exhibit, and I was in love all over again.

Ooooh la la!

Murakami also created special edition canvasses specifically for the Brooklyn presentation, in a new print he's calling Monogramouflage. Here's a glimpse of what will be a new product line launching at the Museum on June 1 before being sold at select LV stores worldwide.

Before I could leave, I had to hit the gift shop. I was greeted by these...



So cute and sunny! You may remember the big Murakami flower pillows as the same ones from Kanye and Alexis' L.A. home (and Harper's Bazaar cover). I had to have one, after all, it's a collectors item! My budget and I chose this lil cutie...

He makes me happy. And it's a pin too!

I looove collecting wearable art. Want one for your collection? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (extra credit for adding inaword...fab to your blogroll) and I'll pick a winner at random to recieve a Murakami pillow pin just like the one above. We can be pin twins! After all, I really appreciate you being here. So chat me up! The last day to enter is Friday, April 11, 2008.

© Murakami, which originated at MOCA in Los Angeles, will be in Brooklyn through July 13, 2008 before traveling to Frankfurt and Bilbao. If you're anywhere near NY, why not check it out for yourself?

Photos courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

Naomi and Kate cover French Vogue

Naomi will cut you, Kate will smoke ya ass.

Deranged diva Naomi Campbell and cocaine queen Kate Moss are the perfect covergirls for the February 2008 "Bad Girls" edition of French Vogue. Too fierce for words. These two have taken me back to the supermodel heyday of the 80's with this cover, in which they are rocking Louis Vuitton mini dresses. You may remember that Naomi was the first African-American to appear on the cover of French Vogue back in 1988. Check out the inside scans below.

Louis = Love

Naomi Campbell

The Louis Vuitton spring 2008 advertising campaign has landed, and the color-drenched photos are all about classic cars, candy-colored bags and supermodels. “I thought the idea of hot chicks and cars was really cool - and very Richard Prince,” said creative director Marc Jacobs to WWD. The ads featuring Stephanie Seymour and Eva Herzigova are slated to break in February magazines, followed by Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Angela Lindvall and Natalia Vodianova in subsequent months. “It is kind of groundbreaking to have six of the supermodels together,” said Antoine Arnault, Vuitton’s director of communications, adding that, “if [Jacobs] was managing the budget, he would have even taken 12.”

Eva Herzigova

Stephanie Seymour