Louis Vuitton highlights Filipino artists

Consider a certain Keith Richards, one of the founding members of the Greatest Rock ‘N’ Roll Band that ever walked the earth. It’s 3 a.m. in a hotel in New York City and the Stones guitarist is strumming away (Love in Vain? Moonlight Mile? Midnight Rambler?) on a black vintage hollow-body Gibson. Keith’s face is of leathery transcendence. The room is a non-beggars’ banquet of scarves on lamps, coffee cups, curtains, a skull and an absolutely stunning leather guitar case.

A Louis Vuitton.

And that was a specially-made guitar case for the iconic troubadour-pirate rocker, reveals Jean-Baptiste Debains, president of Louis Vuitton Asia Pacific.

“It was for his favorite guitar,” says Debains. The campaign, shot by brilliant American photographer Annie Liebovitz (the woman behind the iconic shot of John and Yoko for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine), features personalities who have accumulated miles upon miles of life stories. Extraordinary people with extraordinary journeys. In the Liebovitz photo, Keith is captured in the middle of the band’s never-ending tour, Jagger, Woody and Wyman probably in adjoining rooms. A day in the life of the human riff. You bet: “Some stories cannot be put into words.” 

“On Keith’s face you can see that he has lived quite a lot,” Debains points out.  That’s the map of rock ‘n’ roll for you, a patent of living dangerously yet outlasting everyone. “His face is a story in itself.”

The first photo in the LV campaign featured Mikhail Gorbachev in a limo passing through a vista of the old Berlin Wall, an open Louis Vuitton bag beside him.

“Not everyone knows this, but it was Gorbachev himself who said, ‘I would like to be at the Berlin Wall,’ because for him it represented his journey — an important moment in history that he was a part of.”

There have been others (actress Catherine Deneueve, tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf), but one that stands out is that of boxing great Muhammad Ali. 

“(The ad shows) Ali and his grandson wearing a pair of boxing gloves. You know, the campaign is about travel and transmission.” And, let me add, artful illumination.

Debains is in Manila for the opening of the “Tribute to Heroines” exhibition at the LV boutique in Greenbelt 4.

The show features Filipino contemporary artists Popo San Pascual, Olivia d’Aboville, Chati Coronel, Ferdinand Cacnio and Ramon Orlina. The selection of artworks salutes femininity, its beauty and strength. This event also commemorates the brand’s 20th year in the Philippines.

“We have brought together five exemplary artists who have interpreted the essence of femininity in various art forms,” explains LV country manager Rhea De Vera-Aguirre. “We are proud to present these to our guests as we enter a new decade with them, solidifying the memorable relationships we have nurtured through the years. Due to the recent turn of events brought about by typhoon Yolanda, we would like to make this occasion more meaningful by donating proceeds of the sale of the artworks to SOS Children’s Villages in Tacloban City. The donation will support the rebuilding of the village for the displaced children.”

“The concept of showing artworks in the store is new in the Philippines.  This event signifies our commitment globally in sharing our passion for art and creativity with more audience here,” says Emily Zhou, general manager of Louis Vuitton Micronesia and Philippines.

There are two dimension to the exhibit, according to Debains.

He explains, “We wanted to do this to celebrate heroines in the 20 years that Louis Vuitton is in the Philippines and, at the same time, we are doing a fundraising to support children in Tacloban. Our team has found these five different artists whose work revolves around the theme of femininity. I had seen the works on paper before the selection process, but they’re quite different when you see them in reality — even more special.”

Comes in colors everywhere

Louis Vuitton sharing headspace with art is a constant. There have been jaw-dropping collaborations in the past — over the course of LV’s illustrious 150-year history — that have become ensconced in pop culture.

In 1997, Marc Jacobs became the artistic director of Louis Vuitton and inaugurated the first of many collaborative projects between the fashion  industry and other fields, with such projects pioneering the model for partnership between luxury fashion and art. 

Beginning with Stephen Sprouse, Louis Vuitton continued to create luxury with leading art world figures: Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince and Yayoi Kusama.  In tandem with Marc Jacobs’ projects, Louis Vuitton has also ventured into spatial design projects. The Champs Élysées store has showcased works by James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson, Time-White Sobieski and Haluk Akakçe, etc. 

In addition, the flagship stores of Louis Vuitton in Taipei, Singapore, New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong have respectively displayed works by Michael Lin, Richard Deacon, Olafur Eliasson, Teresita Fernandez, Perspective and Fabrizio Plessi.

What is Debains’ favorite so far?

“One of the most important ones was with graffiti artist Stephen Sprouse,” he recalls. “At that time, Marc Jacobs saw an old Louis Vuitton trunk that belonged to the famous French singer Serge Gainsbourg filled with writings and stickers.” Jacob hit upon the idea of putting monograms of the street artists into LV items. “It was revolutionary back then,” Debains reiterates. “Although it seems quite normal now.” In 2006 and 2008, Jacobs used Sprouse’s graffiti leopard images for handbags, shoes and scarves for LV — hot, hot, really hot.

Another collaboration Debains digs is “Louis Vuitton x Murakami.”

“It was just after Sept. 11 when everything was kind of gloomy and dark. Marc Jacobs discovered Takashi Murakami’s work, a Japanese artist who’s all about colors as a form of joy. One of the lines that came out that we still have today is the Monogram Multicolore Murakami with 33 different colors.” 

Debains explains that the process in creating these bags is similar to silk-screening. “You do color and then another, 33 times. It illustrated how art and craftsmanship can come together.”

That’s the brand story in less than 33 paragraphs.

“The Louis Vuitton DNA involves travel and creativity,” he shares. “That’s why there is this strong link with the world of art. Craftsmanship is important for the brand, but ultimately it is centered on emotions. When you buy Louis Vuitton product, you feel a certain emotion. It’s not just the function… but of course the design, the materials. These are personal objects — whether bags or shoes or wallets; things that are very close to you.”

Debains, who once traveled to Palawan armed with an LV Keepall, surveys the Louis Vuitton exhibition — a D’Aboville here, a Popo there — and concludes that his favorite artist is 19th century Frenchman Eugène Boudin. “He painted the beach and the countryside of Normandy where we used to go on holidays when I was a kid. His paintings remind me of that special time.”

Next stop for Debains is Hong Kong and then Paris later in the week — a life forever in transit. Most probably a Keepall in tow. Elegance in motion.

“Never got a lift out of Lear jets,” Keith Richards sings in Happy. “When I can fly way back home.”

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Louis Vuitton is at the ground floor of Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati City. For information, visit www.louisvuitton.com.