10 July 2023 |
22 of them will be auctioned off with Sotheby’s for charity.
Back in 2013 Louis Vuitton launched their Capucines bag, a style known for its trapezoid silhouette. Taking its name from Rue Neuve-des-Capucines, the Parisian street where Louis Vuitton established his first store in 1854, the bags have become a signature for the luxury house so it only made sense for the brand to dream up unique ways of reimagining its design. One such way is via the Artycapucines Collection. The initiative, which started in 2019, is a yearly series featuring one-of-a-kind bags made by contemporary artists like Alex Israel, Urs Fischer, Donna Huanca, and more. Created to be works of arts, they get auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting charity.
This year you’ll find 22 bags from 22 different artists that’ll be sold in conjunction with Sothebys, with the raised money benefitting everything from Unicef to Baby2Baby to Doctors Without Borders. Highlights include American painter Josh Smith’s version, made with hundreds of thousands of stitches to create a paint-like texture meant to resemble his signature name paintings. Another standout is from Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. His interpretation of the Capucine bag was inspired by his 2019 series Quasi Tutto and is a playful work consisting of small cut-out objects like a mermaid, kangaroo, as well as Louis Vuitton’s signature flower. You’ll also find pieces from the likes of Amélie Bertrand, Daniel Buren, Sam Falls, Urs Fischer, Gregor Hildebrandt, and Huang Yuxing to name a few.
To cap it all off, the presentation is equally as unique as the bags themselves. Not only is each piece signed by the artist, it’s also packaged in a monogrammed Louis Vuitton Boîte Chapeau, a round hat box in the vintage style of the 1920’s. You can check out the full collection at Sotheby’s as online bidding ends July 12th.
