Born in 1883, Gaston-Louis Vuitton was the grandson of the French designer Louis Vuitton. When he joined the family business in 1907, he imbued his artistic eye and love of arts, photography, and gardening into his work, imagining gorgeous window displays and unforgettable design details for an array of Louis Vuitton items. A curious world traveler, an avid art and objects collector, and an intellectual ideator, Vuitton headed the company for over 50 years, evolving the company into a creative maison focused on ingenuity, style, expression, and expansion.
Louis Vuitton Pays Homage to Gaston-Louis Vuitton
This week in Paris, Gaston made a return to the brand in unlikely form—in Louis Vuitton’s “Les Gastons Vuitton” 18-piece men’s jewelry collection. For the new collection, the brand’s Artistic Director of Watches and Jewelry, Francesca Amfitheatrof, wanted to pay homage to his creative spark, his open mind, and his many dynamic interests, debuting several styles that tapped into key brand styles, like the trunk, yet reimagined for today. 16 pieces and two masterpieces were revealed, encompassing rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, tags, and gourmettes that incorporate the brand’s unmissable monogram and trunk.
Photo by Thurstan Redding, courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
“Les Gastons Vuitton” Reimagines Louis Vuitton Icons
For starters, the trunk—an item Gaston treasured and was rumored to have over 175 of—shrinks to its smallest size and appears as pendants, as studs on bracelets and necklaces, and more. Dotted in its center is a diamond, encase in white gold, representing the brand’s modern interpretation of heritage and iconic form. “Les Gastons Vuitton” also embraces a new hue, blue, inspired by a universal staple fabric: denim. “This collection is a bit like your pair of jeans,” said Amfitheatrof. “Everyone owns a pair of jeans and the more you wear your jeans, the more you love them.”
Photo by Thurstan Redding, courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Seen encapsulated in white gold and yellow gold, as well as in the debut of platinum, the combination of colors and materials provides a fresh take on classic luxury. Key to this color are laser-cut pieces in titanium—like rings with three kinetic rows that can spin and divide the LV logo—blend function and interaction.
Photo by Thurstan Redding, courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Celebrating Louis Vuitton’s Design Signatures
Known as a creator himself, Vuitton was known to sketch his many ideas, visually filling notebooks and papers with his ideas—from window display designs and inventions to patents and trade names. To honor this thoughtful activity, Amfitheatrof also designed a designer pendant that doubles as a writing instrument. Playful and inventive, sleek and modern, this key piece lets the wearer in on a maison treasure—one of Gaston’s favorite hobbies, turned into many Louis Vuitton inventions.
Photo by Thurstan Redding, courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Other pieces—like the signet ring in white gold, the gourmette necklace in yellow gold, and the large ring in white gold with diamonds—all grab attention for their luxurious use of materials, reinvented brand logos and motifs, and a modern-day spirit that embraces movement, history, and the future.
Photo by Thurstan Redding, courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
