“I was hired to do fashion, right, not something lukewarm or mainstream,” says Nicolas Ghesquière, who, since 2013, has been the women’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton. “From the moment I arrived, my mission has been to create a very recognizable wardrobe and a vision for the Vuitton woman. I have brought movement to the collections, inspired by the travel history of the house, designs that are functional and sharp, and elements that are anachronistic, a clash of the times. That is much different than my time at Balenciaga, which was completely futuristic. With Vuitton, I love mixing eras, like when I paired 18th-century embroidered redingotes with athletic shorts and sneakers. Vuitton is all about an urban woman who is not afraid of mixing periods—she’s neither vintage nor futuristic, but…
