1902
MORIN BLOSSIER
Riding Jacket
1902
Morin Blossier, French
Black silk velvet appliquéd with polychrome silk satin ribbons and embroidered with polychrome silk thread and gold silk-and-metal thread in floral motif
Gift of Miss Irene Lewisohn, 1937 (C.I.37.44.3a)
2018
NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE
for LOUIS VUITTON
Ensemble
Spring/summer 2018
Louis Vuitton, French, founded 1854
Nicolas Ghesquière, French, born 1971
Gilet of polychrome silk jacquard in floral motif; shirt of white silk charmeuse; shorts of black synthetic plain weave shot with gold Lurex
Courtesy Collection Louis Vuitton
This elaborate, delicately embroidered silk velvet riding jacket was made for Queen Alexandra, consort of British king Edward VII. She was photographed wearing it while riding a horse-drawn cart, reflecting its unsuitability for saddle riding. The embroidery is based on the polychrome floral decoration of the coats and waistcoats of men’s court suits in eighteenth-century France. However, the scale of the pattern and the ribbonwork technique as well as the puffed sleeves locate the jacket firmly in early twentieth-century feminine fashion.
In this ensemble by Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton, the designer experimented with a similar blending of historical and contemporary details. A waistcoat of exquisite jacquard-woven silk imitating the intricate embroidery of formal French suits of the eighteenth century is paired with athletic shorts that suggest a sportif ease atypical of luxury menswear of the ancien régime. Ghesquière explained that he was interested in using garments outside their rightful historical time, transforming them into integral parts of a contemporary wardrobe.
In this ensemble by Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton, the designer experimented with a similar blending of historical and contemporary details. A waistcoat of exquisite jacquard-woven silk imitating the intricate embroidery of formal French suits of the eighteenth century is paired with athletic shorts that suggest a sportif ease atypical of luxury menswear of the ancien régime. Ghesquière explained that he was interested in using garments outside their rightful historical time, transforming them into integral parts of a contemporary wardrobe.