LOUIS VUITTON MENSWEAR | SPRING / SUMMER 2012

Finding inspiration in his childhood experiences in Africa and love of sportswear, Kim Jones first collection for Louis Vuitton married luxury with a sense of nomadic and urban preppy cool.

Jones pulled together a myriad of influences while still managing to retain the worldly traveller aesthetic that so defines the Vuitton man. It’s functional design for the well-heeled desert fox that pushes the Vuitton house forward in the fashion stakes without betraying its heritage. An example of this new partnership can be seen in the Vuitton ‘V’- re-imagined in a blue, red, white colourway – that popped up across the collection.

Spring / Summer 2012 harked back to the clean lines of the 1950s college kids, but with a contemporary twist. The varsity jacket made a return to the catwalk, updated from cotton to a combination of waxed alligator and fabric. For Spring / Summer ’12 Vuitton is the Ivy League, but not as you know it.

Lightweight macs, cagoules and casual t-shirts were worn alongside luxe tailoring. Casually knotted neckerchiefs and folded polka dot pocket squares added a raffish appeal to the proceedings. Trousers were turned up just enough to graze the ankle and were worn without socks, while tailored jackets and matching shorts were accessorised with leather sandals.

Meanwhile, a bold use of colour – vermillion and cobalt – on scarves and shirts punctured the khaki and neutral backdrop. This attention to detail expanded to the accessories: luxurious quilted holdalls with leather trimming sat alongside tribal inspired necklaces, insect keyrings dangled from monogrammed backpacks and boxy shoulder bags inspired by military-issue kit were nonchalantly thrown across the body.

In the case of this inaugural collection, the devil is definitely in the detail.

- Catherine McColl