The artist behind Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 13 show set thought the idea was “crazy” when he first heard it.
Marc Jacobs helms the luxurious fashion house and is famed for his extravagant runway shows. On October 3, models hit the yellow-and-white checked catwalk after coming down a giant escalator.
Artist Daniel Buren helped create the set and was initially unsure it would all be ready in time.
“I received a very nice letter from Marc Jacobs – in his letter he didn’t ask about a collaboration, he just said that he’d like to meet me,” Daniel told vogue.co.uk.
“I was quite surprised. We did not meet until August 28 and I thought we had too little time to do anything [for this season]. My only reservation was when I realised the time scale. I thought they might be wanting something for next year! With time so short, I said, ‘This is totally crazy.'”
Daniel was given free rein to create anything he wanted and was encouraged to go all-out. The show was held at the iconic Louvre and the artist immediately knew including escalators would be “spectacular”.
He was worried about making things look “perfect” but in the end trusted the Vuitton team would do everything he asked to pull off his design.
“Now that I’ve seen it I know it works, but in a way this was a very big risk. Although I knew the team here would not let me do something ridiculous, or something that they couldn’t execute,” he explained.
The artist has also teamed up with the company for their Spring/Summer 13 advertising campaign which was unveiled earlier this week and includes the same square pattern.
Marc has previously spoken of how inspiring he found his collaboration with Daniel.
“His work is very graphic with the use of grids and so I took inspiration from his sculptures and installations,” the designer explained.
“[The escalators are] a moving pattern, a rhythm, it’s a mathematical equation. I just liked graphic patterns, the colour with light.” – COVER MEDIA
