Under the shimmering glass dome of the Grand Palais in Paris, Louis Vuitton unveiled its Artycapucines VII collection, an electrifying celebration of imagination and artistry by Japanese visionary Takashi Murakami. Presented at Art Basel Paris, the seventh chapter of the Artycapucines series transformed the Balcon d’Honneur into a technicoloured dreamscape, a world where Murakami’s signature motifs collided with the Maison’s exquisite craftsmanship.
The French fashion house’s collaboration with Art Basel, now in its third year, continues to redefine the dialogue between fashion and contemporary art. Those who ascended to the upper balcony of the Grand Palais found themselves immersed in Murakami’s whimsical universe. A swirl of tentacles, smiling flowers, and surreal textures. A colossal, cat-eared octopus loomed playfully above visitors, while a plush sphere formed of Murakami’s iconic blossoms anchored the space. Around them stood plinths displaying Louis Vuitton’s latest collector pieces, the Artycapucines VII bags, designed by Murakami himself.
The Japanese artist, who first collaborated with Louis Vuitton in 2003 under then-Artistic Director Marc Jacobs, has now created 11 Artycapucines bags, each a study in vibrant eccentricity and technical mastery. The collection honours a partnership spanning more than twenty years, one that has consistently blurred the line between wearable art and timeless luxury.
Among the most striking designs, the Capucines Mini Mushroom commands attention. Crafted on a silver mirrored canvas, it sprouts a forest of around 100 resin mushrooms, each 3D printed and hand-embroidered. The piece revisits Murakami’s 2003 work Army of Mushrooms, reinterpreting it in vivid, tactile form. Equally captivating, the Capucines BB Golden Garden embodies graceful opulence with its gold-leaf-covered leather, sakura-inspired floral marquetry, and delicate enamel-painted details. A portable ode to 17th-century Edo artist Ogata Kōrin, whose golden screens have long inspired Murakami’s practice.
Other creations showcase the artist’s playful ingenuity. The Capucines EW Rainbow, with its soft semicircular shape and teasing tongue detail, exudes kawaii charm. The Mini Autograph bears Murakami’s handwritten signature on black rhombus leather, a minimalist gesture with maximal impact. Meanwhile, the Capubloom miniaturises Flower Matango, the exuberant sculpture once displayed in Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors during Murakami’s 2010 retrospective.
In a further homage to Japanese art history, the Capucines East West Dragon brings to life Dragon in Clouds Indigo Blue (2010), Murakami’s reinterpretation of Soga Shōhaku’s eighteenth-century dragon panels. Here, a drowsy-eyed dragon curls across the bag’s surface, its whiskers twining around a textured black handle. Elsewhere, Murakami’s beloved panda appears as a dazzling rhinestone-studded clutch, its mischievous smile glittering beneath the exhibition lights.
Beyond the bags, Murakami’s installation transformed Art Basel Paris into a pulsating visual symphony. A 25-foot-tall tentacled sculpture, simultaneously playful and imposing, stretched skyward, surrounded by glowing floral forms and mirrored surfaces that reflected the riot of colour.
Described by Louis Vuitton as “a whimsical immersion into the artist’s quintessential kaleidoscopic universe,” the presentation embodied the joyous union of art and luxury.
Two decades since their first collaboration, Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami continue to push creative boundaries. Artycapucines VII stands as a testament to their shared vision where craftsmanship becomes art, and fashion blooms into fantasy.
