In 2003, the then-creative director of Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, formed a partnership with the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. It was the first time the maison allowed its coveted monogram to be reimagined, seen in electric hues of vibrant colors. When the collection hit the market, it was a sensation, blending tradition and craft with Pop colors, playful illustrations, and reimagined icons of the brand. Murakami’s kaleidoscopic manga take on the Louis Vuitton monogram resulted in the Monogram Multicolore in 33 vivid hues, the Superflat Panda and smiling flowers, and more.
Over two decades later, Louis Vuitton debuted a second iteration of the punchy collection by Takashi Murakami earlier this year, returning with unforgettable styles from the past and a suite of new designs, too. Whitewall attended the private New York City presentation at the brand’s pop-up boutique on Prince Street, immersed in the collaboration’s pops of color. This Thursday, the duo unveils the third chapter in its longtime partnership, introducing the return of Murakami’s iconic Cherry motif.
Takashi Murakami x Louis Vuitton
Chapter Three arrives sun‑drenched and expansive, bringing more than 70 pieces to consumers, from archival bag silhouettes to a lacquered bicycle. If the first two chapters revisited the graphics that defined 2000s fashion, this finale focuses on kawaii. Think twin cherries atop leafy green stems—a motif that first charmed the runway (and the early camera‑phone era) in 2005.
Chapter 3 with 3-D Cherries
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
While classic brown monogram remains, the collection’s headline is a white monogram that embraces a new multi‑step serigraphy technique that crested a 3‑D‑printing illusion. Here, cherries are seen in sheen, high‑gloss, turning house icons—the Speedy, the Alma, the Side Trunk—into portable pop‑art.
More Objects of Desire
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Filling out the collection are more objects worth coveting, including the brand’s iconic Capucines bag. Reimagined, it dons dangling metal cherries on gilt chains and secret enamel fruits hiding on zip pulls and clasps. Part of the collection is also a cherry‑embossed denim capsule, featuring indigo jacquard embroidery on cult items—the Pochette Accessoires, the Sunset, the Keepall 45—and gifts like a deck chair and a fluttering hand fan. Footwear also makes a statement with Romy ballerinas and Maya platforms with cherry patches, Cherie mules with 3-D cherry heels, and denim Lily sandals. Other items, like twill silk scarves are decorated in micro‑cherries, and acrylic bag charms clip on to the sides of bags for a playful spin.
About Takashi Murakami
We want to see the newest things. That is because we want to see the future, even if only momentarily. It is the moment in which, even if we don’t completely understand what we have glimpsed, we are nonetheless touched by it. This is what we have come to call art.
—Takashi Murakami
Drawing from traditional Japanese painting, sci-fi, anime, and the global art market, Takashi Murakami creates paintings, sculptures, and films populated by repeated motifs and mutating characters of his own creation. His wide-ranging work embodies an intersection of pop culture, history, and fine art.
Murakami’s work extends to mass-produced items such as toys, key chains, and t-shirts. In 2002 he began a multiyear collaboration with Marc Jacobs on the redesign of the Louis Vuitton monogram. Murakami then took the radical step of directly incorporating the Vuitton monograms and patterns into his paintings and sculptures. While Murakami’s imagery may appear to present unprecedented characters and forms, many contain explicit art historical references, and some are even direct contemporary updates on traditional Japanese works.
Not only does Murakami merge different time periods, styles, and subject matter in his work, but his approach to art crosses the boundaries between gallery, studio, art fair, and media as well. Along with creating paintings and sculptures, he has hosted art fairs for emerging artists, curated exhibitions, and made films featuring his many characters and motifs. Combining fantasy, science, and history, he shows that none of these categories can be considered in isolation.
