A SCULPTED EDITION

Is it art? Is it arm candy? It's both. The Louis Vuitton exhibition at Art Basel in Miami Beach collaborated with pioneering architect Frank Gehry to launch a sculptural, one-of-a-kind handbag collection.

- SARAH KHALKHO

One of the booths at the Art Basel in Miami Beach in December, a renowned contemporary art fair, stood out from the rest. Five sinuous mesh installations greeted the visitors, along with distinctive handbags that were almost sculptural in design.

Set up by Louis Vuitton, it was a homage to the French luxury house’s lasting collaborative relationship with award-winning Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and included a limited edition collection of handbags crafted by him—Louis Vuitton X Frank Gehry.

Louis Vuitton first partnered with Frank in 2014, when he was commissioned to build the Fondation Louis Vuitton, an art and cultural museum in Paris. Its sail-like façade would later inspire the window shop displays the architect created for the Maison the same year, and even the mesh curved structures at Art Basel Miami Beach. Gehry’s first fashion collaboration with the brand came in 2014 as well, in the form of the Twisted Box bag, which has been reinterpreted for the new collection. The unique trunk-like bag now comes in black leather embossed with the exclusive LV X FG monogram.