A 171-year-old French luxury house, a 63-year-old Japanese artist, and 11 striking interpretations to honor their 20 years of collaboration, that’s the coming together of Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami in 2025 for fans who can never get enough of the crazy charisma, playful chaos, and unapologetic fashion energy of their reunion.
What Marc Jacobs initiated as the then-creative director of Louis Vuitton has evolved into one of the most iconic fusions of luxury fashion and contemporary art in history. Back with a bang after 20 years, and perhaps the loudest of them all, are 11 otherworldly creations that will make you rethink the accessory, its role, and even the maison behind it.
Embodying Takashi Murakami’s joyful universe is Louis Vuitton’s mastery over materials with the iconic Capucines bags, each wildly different yet bound by an invisible ingenuity that turns the LV into a curious canvas. A collector would be spoiled for choice as the Capucines range from a bedazzled Panda Clutch featuring 6,250 rhinestones to the Capucines BB Golden Garden bag inspired by his Ogata Kōrin–influenced Chrysanthemum works. The exquisite bag comes adorned with gold-leaf-covered leather, intricate floral marquetry, and enamel-painted details.
The Capucines EW Rainbow, perhaps the most relatable bag to the artist behind it, reimagines the bag’s structure into a kaleidoscopic explosion of color. Fashion is represented to the T in iterations like the Mini Mushroom, featuring no fewer than 100 of the artist’s fantastical mushroom characters, hand-polished and embroidered onto the bag’s silver mirrored canvas.
The most outlandish piece of the collection is undoubtedly the Mini Tentacle, inspired by Murakami’s alter ego, Mr. DOB. For those who love art with a side of subtlety, the EW Dragon bag successfully captures the essence of the 18-meter-long Dragon in Clouds, Indigo Blue (2010) painting in wearable form.
“Over the past 20 years, from my first collaboration to this 2025 project, I believe Louis Vuitton’s atelier has made remarkable technological advancements,” Murakami shared. “For example, denim was not an option as a material back then, and the progress in three-dimensional modelling and metalworking is awe-inspiring. The pursuit of high-end savoir faire at Louis Vuitton is extraordinary, and I am constantly amazed by the quality of artisanship, reaching heights even artists’ studios like mine cannot attain,” he stated.
The new Artycapucines collection is making waves at the Balcon d’Honneur of the Grand Palais as part of Art Basel Paris. As an Associate Partner of Art Basel Paris, Louis Vuitton took over the Balcon d’Honneur with a one-of-a-kind booth; a 26-foot-high octopus sculpture adorned with tentacle motifs and his signature luminescent Superflat Jellyfish Eyes pattern.
