Richard Prince, the American appropriation artist, collaborated with Louis Vuitton design head Marc Jacobs for LV’s Spring/Summer 2008 handbag line. The show opened with 12 models, including Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour, dressed in identical nurse uniforms holding the bags.Prince joins a line of artists such as Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami to collaborate with the French fashion house and help give the classic house an edgy feel and a leg up on its competitors. The artist presents his variations on the traditional logo – washed, faded and painted, as well as cartoons on a few styles.

An article in Women’s Wear Daily comments on the S/S 2008 line in general, that’s it is the same styles that have been seen before, just cut up and sewn together differently. “But then, bastardizing the familiar is a constant motif in the work of both creative participants in this show, the artist and designer.” Jacobs said of the artist, “Richard is the king of appropriation. I believe in what he does — he takes imagery that has some meaning for him and appropriates it.”

A retrospective of Prince’s work is on view at the Guggenheim Museum until January 2008.

Louis Vuitton Collection Review [WWD]
Marc Jacobs: Unfashionably Late [WSJ]
Rely on Richard Prince to Provide the Punchline [FT]

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