A Look at Nicolas Ghesquière’s Louis Vuitton Cruise Collections

Throughout Nicolas Ghesquière’s distinguished decade at Louis Vuitton, one of his standout legacies has been his penchant for selecting fascinating architectural settings for the brand’s Cruise collections.

Each location, ranging from historical sites steeped in rich heritage to cutting-edge contemporary structures, offered a unique backdrop for the prestigious fashion show.

In 2014, Ghesquière kicked off his debut Cruise 2015 collection in Monaco. The underwater-themed catwalk took place outside the principality’s Place du Palais in a modern glass construction that offered an intriguing contrast to the 13th-century royal palace.

The mid-century trove of Palm Springs, California played host to the Cruise 2016 show the following year at the spectacular Bob and Dolores Hope Estate. Designed by acclaimed architect John Lautner, the futuristic estate, built in the shape of a volcano with an undulating concrete roof, formed an interesting tribute to the Desert Modernism style.

The backdrop to Ghesquière’s 2017 collection was the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an iconic hillside building shaped like a white flying saucer, once described by Ghesquière as a place where one is “transported into a relationship where nature, geography, and architecture come together.”

The tranquil beauty of Kyoto, Japan surrounded the 2018 show staged at the Miho Museum. Accessible via a futuristic suspension bridge and tunnel, the spectacular building was inspired by its lush mountain setting and the utopian ideals of Shangri-La. The Miho Museum was designed by renowned Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, known for his work on the Louvre pyramid in Paris.

For the 2019 collection, it was back to the French Riviera with a show in Saint-Paul-de-Vence at the Fondation Marguerite and Aimé Maeght, an innovative modern building designed to pay tribute to contemporary art.

The Cruise 2020 show took place in New York at John F. Kennedy Airport’s TWA Flight Center. Designed to resemble a gigantic bird, the building by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen recalled the buzz of the Jet Age era.

Vuitton returned to the catwalk after the pandemic with a collection that spanned China and France. The 2022 collection was presented at two venues: China’s Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, a brick vault building inspired by traditional Chai kilns; and France’s Axe Majeur, an immense urban art installation by sculptor Dani Karavan.

Ghesquière’s architectural journey continued with the Cruise 2023 show presented in San Diego, United States, at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, considered a powerful example of Brutalist design.

In 2023, Louis Vuitton displayed its 2024 collection on Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore at an extraordinary estate—one of the most notable examples of the Italian Baroque style.

Ghesquière’s most recent stop took him to Barcelona, Spain, where he staged his latest show at Park Güell, a fantastical garden designed by architect Antoni Gaudí who was known for his whimsical buildings and elaborate mosaics. Gaudí’s colourful spirit and flamboyant Spanish influences were featured in the collection, mirroring the memorable setting.

With a decade of shows behind him, we can’t wait to see where Ghesquière’s vision will take him next.