Louis Vuitton SS26: The Queen Who Stayed In
Nicolas Ghesquière’s latest collection evokes intimate grandeur – clothes for hosting, lounging and living in sumptuous seclusion.
Images courtesy of Louis Vuitton
During her royal tenure, Anne of Austria (1601-1666) – Queen of France, political mastermind and devoted mother of two boys – kept a set of summer apartments within the Louvre. Designed by architect Louis Le Vau, they reopened last spring after intensive renovations, with marble floors and fresco ceilings so grandiose, if you lived there you would be forgiven for never wanting to leave.
Louis Vuitton’s Spring Summer ’26 collection, presented in her apartments, was designed for such a woman — one who has no real cause to leave her sumptuous surroundings, choosing instead to entertain guests at home.
Not to say she doesn’t want to look nice for her company. For certain meetings, she dons blush and lipstick, and wears an encrusted robe, loose fitting trousers, a cocooning coat or an enveloping knit.
Other visitors get a slightly more undone version. On those occasions she dresses in long johns, onesies or nightgowns, styled with slippers. Her skin is fresh and dewy from a nap, while her hair signals she was resting on a pillow moments before the guest arrived.
Her wardrobe is all soft fabrics, relaxed silhouettes and flat shoes. All the comforts of the world are at her doorstep. Over the soundtrack, house ambassador and Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett read aloud Talking Heads’ lyrics: “Home is where I want to be but I guess I’m already there.”