Inspired by train travel, Nicolas Ghesquière sent out his most feminine collection yet

You’d think that a collection inspired by travel would be considered mainly for the pre-collections, but Louis Vuitton has offered it for the autumn/winter 2025 season. This was, however, less about the train itself, but the buzz of a train station. That idea was not new to LV: Twelve years ago, Marc Jacobs presented his autumn/winter 2013 show in a set built to resemble a train station, but back then, a locomotive actually pulled in. This time, there was no train, just a concourse with the attendees as travelers or perhaps there to bid farewell to those departing on the train. The set was not built on the site of the Paris travel landmark Gare du Nord, as was earlier rumoured, but next to it, on the courtyard fronting an abandoned building that was once a private railway company linked to the Rothschilds. The four-storey interior was one-third usable verandas, with windows all around that were video screens showing seemingly fashionable people on their commute.

It is a romantic notion, of course, that when people travel, they are so exceptionally attired. These days, many do not dress for journeys on planes, even less likely on trains, whether on the rare choo-choo types or the bullet ones. In cities such as Shanghai or Tokyo, taking a train is so common that it’s like taking a bus. You hardly ever see people togged to the nines. Even when train travel is not common here, you practically never witness those who make an effort when they do board one. We can, of course, dream. Just as Nicolas Ghesquière did. Perhaps it was a fantasy of what could be, influenced by films and their characters, but in the case of LV, less stock, although if you looked hard enough, there was a yoga look for those who must dress comfortably for a journey that required some traveling time. In the National Express, The Divine Comedy sang: “Take the National Express when your life’s in a mess/It’ll make you smile/All human life is here…” And smile, we did too.

The smile, to be sure, is in favour, not of derision. Louis Vuitton’s womenswear is not always fully digestible (avant-garde is, curiously, often used to describe the designs) since it was rarely meant to be easy. We have frequently heard in the stores here, customers saying that Mr Ghesquière’s clothes are hard to wear because they are ”too boxy” or not “feminine enough”, just two common reactions of discontent. So it was amusing that many of the components that have been considered less appealing to the body were still there (a taunt?) although tempered somewhat. Sure the ’80s shoulders were present, so were the offbeat geometric patterns, and odd juxtaposition of shapes (that included ruffles), but on the whole, these were wearable pieces, softer and with the femininity amped up. There were even liquid dresses held up by skinny spaghetti (angel hair?) straps that would appear on the racks of & Other Stories soon.

There was also the androgyny, something we appreciate very much about Mr Ghesquière’s work for LV. This season, K-pop group Stray Kids’ Felix (Lee Yongbok) returned to the LV runway (last photo, top row, right). He wore a wide funnel-neck sweater with a course knit of oversized check, tucked into a pair of loose trousers in what could be madras check (but rather muted in colour). He had first dip of Mr Ghesquière’s pieces, but was not gender compromised. Once, in the Tokyo Namiki LV store in Ginza, we noticed Japanese men buying from the women’s rack and made the observation audible. A staffer confirmed the selection’s popularity among their male customers. But, here at the ION store, we were once told somewhat adamantly by a salesgirl that Mr Ghesquière “does not design menswear”, quickly dismissing our query if men buy from the lady’s department. It is noteworthy that Louis Vuitton’s womenswear travels across and bridges not only geographical borders, but also gender divides. As you would hear on a train platform, all aboard!

Screen shot (top): louisvuitton/YouTube. Photo: Louis Vuitton