It seems as if Africa has been the inspiration for more than one major collection this year. Louis Vuitton’s Spring Summer 2012 collection features the iconic red shuka worn by the Kenyan Maasai tribe.The fashion show held in Paris last week showcased the men’s wear designs by Kim Jones. He is the Men’s Style Director, who signed his debut collection for Louis Vuitton under the Artistic Direction of Marc Jacobs.
“Growing up in Africa, living with little lizards, snakes and elephants or being chased by baboons — it never really goes away,” said Jones, in the NY Times, referring to family life in the wild with his hydrogeologist father.The designer calls his new work “my dream job,” marveling about how quickly things can be made in the vast, but focused, luxury group. His experiments for the spring/summer 2012 season include wood work, as a play both on Africa and on the carpentry that was essential to make Louis Vuitton trunks in the 1920s and ’30s.
This however not the first time the label has drawn inspiration from Africa. If you think back to Spring 2007 they had their Ghana-must-go bag. Africa’s checkered bag which many of us would recognise was elevated to a symbol of luxury once the label used it. Also a Vogue reviewer described Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2009 collection as ‘Josephine Baker African razzmatazz’.
Seems as if more and more designers are turning to Africa and associating the continent with luxury as opposed to destitution. Well they’ve done it more than once and Burberry also did it this year. Try as they might they cant duplicate our swag. Love the red flamboyant scarves though. Overall Kim Jones can do no wrong in my eyes.
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