It’s inevitable that Louis Vuitton would stage a runway show in South Korea. Not only has fashion turned its attention to the Asian entertainment powerhouse—thanks to the ridiculously catchy beats of K-pop and the increasingly compelling storylines of K-dramas as well as the alluring faces that inhabit both scenes—the world remains seemingly fixated on all things South Korean.
At Louis Vuitton, its roster of house ambassadors have steadily grown to include famed South Korean faces with the latest including BTS’ J-Hope, NewJeans’ Hyein, and Squid Game actress and model Ho-Yeon Jung.
It was Jung who opened the Louis Vuitton pre-autumn 2023 womenswear show (she closed the autumn/winter 2023 womenswear show). The house’s first runway show in Seoul, South Korea was held right above the Han River on the Jamsugyo Bridge—a landmark that connects the city’s north and south banks, frequented by the everyman. The scenography was conceived with the assist of Squid Game director Hwang Dong-Hyuk who bathed the bridge with lights, and waterworks during the finale.
But besides the involvement of South Korean creatives in aspects of the pre-autumn 2023 womenswear runway show, the collection was classic Nicolas Ghesquière. There’s always this tendency for creative directors to infuse culture-specific elements and craft whenever a show is held away from home ground. At times, they can come across as opportunistic especially if there’s little done to benefit the community that a collection is inspired by. Ghesquière, however, had none of that. It makes sense too given how the South Korean style identity is influenced by spheres beyond its own.
As the cold wind swept through the space, the runway was teeming with Louis Vuitton icons that were remixed in typical Ghesquière fashion. For starters, waists were cinched with belts featuring buckles that were essentially blown-up iterations of the signature Louis Vuitton hook that adorns the house’s accessories. The design trope appeared on a number of the collection’s bags too.
The tension between masculinity and femininity was apparent throughout. Casual sportswear-influence pieces were juxtaposed with feminine nuances crafted from hardier fabrics. The looks were all then paired with chunky Archlight footwear—nothing was dainty or had any semblance of a heel.
There may be some truth to quiet luxury becoming a trend since the ready-to-wear collection strayed away from becoming too logo-heavy. Sure, there were pieces that leaned heavily on the Louis Vuitton Monogram and even oversized iterations of the Damier, but they felt like accents rather than the main draw of a look. And even if a Louis Vuitton signifier visually overwhelmed a look, the treatment was different—look at the pieces towards the end of the collection where the Damier was beautifully interpreted as a textured fabric.
The only obvious nod to its destination runway show was a bag that’s adorned with “Louis Vuitton Seoul” and shaped like a Parisian street sign. It’s a silhouette that made its debut on the autumn/winter 2023 womenswear runway show. And if Louis Vuitton is making destination runways a recurring fixture in the foreseeable future—especially for its pre-collections—that’ll definitely make for the perfect collector’s item.
View the full Louis Vuitton pre-autumn 2023 womenswear collection in the gallery below.
