Dot's incredible

For learning about contemporary artists Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince, I have to thank Louis Vuitton’s artistic director, Marc Jacobs.

We came to know about them when Jacobs, an obsessive modern art collector, invited the artists to collaborate with the luxury brand in 2003 and 2007.

It gave us Louis Vuitton fans a chance to own a piece of their work.

In 2006, I spotted Marc Jacobs in a Japanese magazine with a strange-looking red-haired (or bewigged) artist named Yayoi Kusama.

From there I Googled her work and found out she had also influenced one of my fashion heroes, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons.

Kusama’s obsession with dots and the idea of accumulation explains the recurrence of polka dots in Comme des Garçons designs.

An example of Yayoi Kusama’s work in 1965 was an installation called “Infinity Mirror Room (Phalli’s Field)” at the Castellane Gallery, New York.

Born in Matsumoto City, Japan, in 1929, Kusama conquered all the techniques — from sculpture and painting, to filmmaking, photography and writing.

In the 1950s she made a name for herself when she created the Infinity Nets, a monochrome network composed of a minuscule unique element repeated to infinity.

In 1958 she settled in New York where she mixed with the avant-garde world and exhibited alongside Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol and Donald Judd.

Since returning to Japan in 1973, she has been residing in a psychiatric hospital, while keeping a separate studio where she goes daily to create.

Meeting of the minds: Marc Jacobs meets Yayoi Kusama in Tokyo, 2006.

Jacobs’ first meeting with Kusama inspired a series of Louis Vuitton dotted handbags in 2007. Next month, the luxury house will launch a full collection in collaboration with Kusama.

Working closely with Louis Vuitton teams, the artist herself became involved in the whole creative process, from the products to the windows.

The first collection will release polka-dotted leather goods, ready-to-wear, shoes, accessories, watches and jewelry, while a second collection featuring a different motif will be presented in October 2012.

Its launch will coincide with a Kusama retrospective at the Whitney Museum in New York from July 12 to Sept. 30. Prior to this, the retrospective has been traveling from the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and most recently, the Tate Modern in London.

When the collaboration launches on July 10, expect to see Louis Vuitton stores worldwide decorated in Kusama’s iconic patterns.

Seven Louis Vuitton Kusama concept stores will also pop up between July and October inside the Louis Vuitton store in SoHo, New York; Louis Vuitton Pacific Place in Hong Kong; Ngee Ann City in Singapore; Shinjuku Isetan department store in Tokyo; Dover Street Market Ginza, Tokyo; Le Printemps department store in Paris, and Selfridges department store in London.

* * *

The concept stores will be entirely dedicated to products from the collaboration. In addition, a special iPhone app and microsite are available on iTunes and http://www.louisvuittonkusama.com/.