Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière’s decade at the pinnacle of fashion

When he joined “Vuitton”, as he refers to the house, he was widely expected to bring his futuristic design ethos to the storied Parisian label. He defied expectations with his first collection though, shown in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum in March 2014, presenting a wardrobe of key pieces for women on the go.

“My first season was very well thought out and balanced – almost too balanced for some people, who thought, ‘This is it?’” he says, talking to Style in Paris this summer. “They were expecting more architectural elements and more spectacle, and I wanted to show that for many reasons – because I had moved houses and evolved – my signature was to contribute to building a wardrobe and those codes.

“We can say that today this is established and the business has become phenomenal. The entire silhouette exists, with bags and shoes, so I think now there is this mission to add new elements to that vocabulary.”

“I developed these new codes and a recognisable silhouette that people will say is the Louis Vuitton style,” he says. “It’s something you always work on. There is the fashion intention that’s so important – the things you’re going to propose for the next three to six months. And then there is the style, which is done to last and is almost timeless. So you’re always working on those two elements that are very strong. You’re a sprinter but you also run a marathon.”

“Sometimes there’s this idea that designers and artistic directors need to be in an ivory tower, but this is not the case nowadays,” Ghesquière affirms. “If we are in these positions, it’s because we understand the mix of great creativity and a well-thought-out product, and that these could be the same thing.”

Take the aforementioned Petite Malle: an item that pays homage to the heritage of Louis Vuitton while reflecting the times we live in. “It’s a trunk for today, which carries the values of the brand in an object that is very luxurious,” says Ghesquière. “It’s my first design for Vuitton and I still have the drawing. I took a Louis Vuitton book, cut out a few pages and a picture of a trunk, and taped it up like a scrapbook, and that was it.”

Unsurprisingly, last year – after months of speculation about Ghesquière’s future at the house – Louis Vuitton’s parent company, LVMH, extended his contract. A decade at the same brand is a remarkable achievement for any designer, especially in an industry where such jobs can come and go at breakneck speed and loyalty is not highly prized.

“I’m quite loyal,” says Ghesquière. “I stayed for 16 years at Balenciaga, and when I joined Vuitton I was hoping I was going to be here for a long time. It’s a beautiful second love story.

“I thought that after 10 years, I had many more things to say,” he adds. “As with any relationship, you have to decide together … We expressed [the wish to continue] to each other quite early, so it was not stressful. That’s another example of how stable this house is.”

“The idea of travelling for a show is so inspiring, and what’s beautiful about cruise is how you integrate the place and are sensitive to the cultural aspect, [which you then] merge with your own vision … It’s great to think about what the brand has in common with the territory where we show. For me it’s one of the things I’m happiest and proudest about and cherish the most.”

“It’s a galaxy of talent – I’m very curious and I can’t watch everything, but there are things I’m attracted to,” he says. “When I find people I’m interested in, I share it with the team, and then we reach out to them and invite them to the show. So far we’ve been lucky, but I’m often surprised because they’ll say, ‘I love this, and I remember when you did that.’ If there is a great relationship, then it works and it’s organic. When it’s transactional, you can tell. I love to discuss what they do, and whether they’re an emerging talent or established talent, I ask what they are doing right now – a movie or project or series.”

Now that Ghesquière has established such a strong body of work at Louis Vuitton, he can reference his past designs knowing that long-time fans will appreciate the throwbacks, while new followers will discover something new. “It was an unusual way to approach a show, and we’re going to do it again in a different way and be less afraid because to look to the future, you also have to look to the past with respect and love,” he notes. “It’s the angle you take and [how] you make people feel that they know something but don’t really know – that’s going to make them want to look at it again.”

The secret to Ghesquière’s staying power at Louis Vuitton, however, is that regardless of all the noise surrounding the powerhouse label, he is first and foremost a dressmaker, a designer’s designer – someone who has put in the years and the hard work to achieve excellence.

“I come from that school with Jean Paul, doing fittings and building looks on the body; picking up fabrics, developing new fabrics, diving into the fabrics; and then looking for the shape. I work in a very academic way,” says Ghesquière of his process. “I do every fitting, and I learned early in my career at Balenciaga to develop bags. My interest is not only in clothes, but also bags and shoes and the whole silhouette … I do the bags like I do the clothes, and I have sessions where I cut and patch them and redesign. This is probably what I enjoy the most in my job.”

Humbly referring to ready-to-wear as a “junior category at Vuitton” when compared with other departments at the house, Ghesquière says that there’s nothing more “fascinating and exciting” than writing this new chapter of the history of the brand. Ultimately, for him fashion is all about emotion, whether he conveys it through a product you want to get your hands on, or a show that “makes people dream” – even if they only see it on a phone screen.

“I notice that when you put so much effort, when you put so much love in, usually the result goes with it. That’s what I believe.”