Six more artists reimagine Louis Vuitton Capucines bags 

FROM the vivid colour palette of Ugo Rondinone to the minimalist rigour of Park Seo-Bo, Louis Vuitton’s iconic Capucines bag has once again been turned into compact works of art to be carried around everywhere.

Since 2019, the bag has been reimagined annually by various renowned international artists including Zeng Fanzhi, Vik Muniz, Tschabalala Self, Liu Wei, Urs Fischer and Jean-Michel Othoniel. Each time the bags are released in a limited edition of 200 per design, they sell out within minutes. 

This year marks the fourth chapter of “Artycapucines” with six more top contemporary artists involved, namely Daniel Buren, Kennedy Yanko, Peter Marino and Amelie Bertrand, as well as the aforementioned Rondinone and Park.

Each artist brings to the project a specific skill and vision that stem from years of practising their art. In the case of Buren, for instance, his signature broad stripes adorn not just one but four different colour interpretations of the bag. (Each colour interpretation will be available in an edition of 50, bringing the total available Buren-designed Capucines to 200.)

Yanko, whose three-dimensional artworks typically feature various repurposed materials, has reinvented the Capucines as a sculpted wonder with gorgeous ripples and folds, made out of 3D-printed leather and a metallic patina hand-applied by Italian artisans.

Bertrand has one of the most whimsical designs of all: Her design features big flower-like motifs attached to a vividly hand-sprayed body. What’s more, the bag glows in the dark – a first for the Capucines. On the other hand, Marino turns to his favourite colour black for inspiration, creating an alluring and meticulously-studded Capucines with an exclusive clasp and a handle with a whip-like detailing.

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Rondinone, famous for his fluorescent-coloured art and interest in clowns, has transferred those sensibilities into a harlequin-styled bag covered with 14,000 hand-stitched beads. Meanwhile the great painter Park, widely regarded as the godfather of the monochromatic art movement in South Korea, has recreated the texture of his trademark Ecritures paintings onto calfskin leather to stunning effect.

The Capucines bag is named after Rue Neuve-des-Capucines, the Parisian street where Louis Vuitton opened his first store in 1854. These latest designs will be revealed worldwide on Friday (Oct 21) and are expected to be snapped up by eager fashionistas as well as fans of the artists. 

The annual Artycapucines collection extends the long history of collaboration between Louis Vuitton and leading contemporary artists, which in the past included Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusama, Richard Prince and Jeff Koons.