Louis Vuitton collaborated with architect Frank Gehry to launch a sculptural, one-of-a-kind handbag collection

One of the booths at the Art Basel in Miami Beach in December, a renowned contemporary art fair, stood out from the rest. Five sinuous mesh installations greeted the visitors, along with distinctive handbags that were almost sculptural in design. Set up by Louis Vuitton, it was a homage to the French luxury house’s lasting collaborative relationship with award-winning Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and includes a limited edition collection of handbags crafted by him—Louis Vuitton X Frank Gehry.

Louis Vuitton first partnered with Frank in 2014, when he was commissioned to build the Fondation Louis Vuitton, an art and cultural museum in Paris. Its sail-like façade would later inspire the window shop displays the architect created for the Maison the same year, and even the mesh curved structures at Art Basel Miami Beach. Gehry’s first fashion collaboration with the brand came in 2014 as well, in the form of the Twisted Box bag, which has been reinterpreted for the new collection. The unique trunk-like bag now comes in black leather embossed with the exclusive LV X FG monogram.

His work is informed by an appreciation for the form, and the limited-edition collection at the Art Basel reflects the same. Themes of architecture, along with an exploration of materials and animal motifs find their way into the handbags. He has married Louis Vuitton’s savoir-faire with his own signature touches and reimagined the iconic Capucines bags designed by artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière. The Capucines BB Croc comes in a striking neon-yellow pattern with a glittering crocodile-shaped brass handle, based on the crocodile sculpture Gehry created for the London restaurant Sexy Fish. The Capucines Mini Blossom has vivid glass-like resin petals covering the white exterior, while the Capucines MM Floating Fish has a large 3D red fish created with intricate leather marquetry swimming along the silhouette, both influenced by elements of the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Yet another piece from the collection, ‘Bear With Us clutch’, looks like anything but a handbag. The shiny brass bag seems like it’s made from crumpled paper covered in metal and is a miniature version of the life-sized sculpture of the same name.

Frank’s famous architectural projects find reference in the handbag collection too. The Capucines MM Concrete Pockets, as the name suggests, feature 3D pockets on the outside that mimic the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s exterior. The Capucines BB Analog Bag is an ode to the IAC Building in New York, and the Capucines BB Shimmer Haze echoes the iridescent front of Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture rounding up the architecturally inspired section.

Other Frank Gehry collaborations with the fashion house were also on display at the Art Basel Miami Beach booth, everything from sketches of his past projects like ‘Celebrating Monogram’, scale models, original artworks, to perfume bottles from the Les Extraits collection adorned with crinkled aluminium caps shaped into shining, twisted flowers. The whimsical trunk titled “A Tea Party for Louis” was also on show, which was originally a part of the 200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries exhibition on Louis Vuitton’s 200th birthday. The part-sculpture part-trunk looks like straight out of a scene in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and for good reason—the trunk’s eccentric design depicting an over-the-top tea party is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel.

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