How Imagination Can Change The World

Through a collaboration with Fornasetti, the Louis Vuitton fall/winter 2021 collection became a spectacular meeting of minds, of fashion and art, and of the classical and the contemporary. Barnaba Fornasetti tells us more about the partnership and how imagination can change the world.

-  Jeffrey Yan

Founded in 1940 by Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti sits at the intersection of art and design, and has become beloved the world over thanks to its irreverent approach to both. A healthy dose of surrealism and whimsy marks the studio’s output, be it candles, porcelain, furniture or wallpaper. Now, the brand has made a foray into high fashion with a Louis Vuitton tie-up. Inspired by the idea of clashing past with present, and classicism with the avant-garde, the surreal and everything in between, Nicolas Ghesquière, Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear, looked to the vast archives of Fornasetti and rendered its prints, motifs and drawings on both ready-to-wear and accessories. It marked the latest, and perhaps the biggest, in a long line of collaborations for the Italian design studio—now helmed by Barnaba Fornasetti, son of Piero. Ahead of a Fornasetti exhibition curated by Ghesquière, “Imagination Takes Flight: The World of Fornasetti Through the Eyes of Nicolas Ghesquière”, which is set to take place at Garage Traversi in Milan next year, Fornasetti sits down exclusively with us to talk about the magic of collaboration, the importance of the handmade and the power of dreaming.

How did the collaboration with Louis Vuitton come about and why did it feel right for now?