Louis Vuitton's New Day at Dover Street Market

It’s hard not to draw a poetic parallel between Dover Street Market’s biannual New Beginning process when the store is replenished and redone and Nicolas Ghesquière’s now infamous “Today is a new day. A big day.” statement typed out on a letter, which was given out at his inaugural Louis Vuitton show in Paris.  Dover Street Market’s New Beginning and Ghesquière’s ‘New Day’ go hand in hand together to bring about a special space dedicated to Ghesquiere’s debut collection for Louis Vuittion on the first floor of Dover Street Market London.

In between a DSM signature ramshackle corrugated iron hut and a glass vitrine filled with animal skulls sits a Louis Vuitton spaceship of sorts – a self-contained unit lit-up with warm neon tubes landed in, to house a special edit of the key directional pieces from Ghesquière’s AW14 collection for the house.  “We like to give the chance to brands like Vuittion to be free to express themselves in a completely different way than they normally do, with a view to exactly that: allow the customer to see the product in a different way,” explained Adrian Joffe over email.  As you walk in and out of this Louis Vuitton space (to be recreated in the Dover Street Market Ginza and New York stores as as well), it’s certainly a radically different browsing experience to that of Vuitton’s many many flagships.

As Dover Street Market London approaches its ten year birthday, it bears remembering how unusual it was and still is, as a retail concept.  Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons inviting the likes of Dior, Prada and Louis Vuitton to have their own carte blanche spaces, that then sit alongside rails of CdG’s own lines, would have had people scratching their heads at the time when Dover Street Market London opened.    “From the very beginning we worked with luxury brands and small designers and streetwear and classic and everything else in between.  We opened with the largest spaces for Lanvin, Alaia, Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane (for Dior Homme)” said Joffe.  What’s intriguing is how Kawakubo and Joffe see the relationship between Comme des Garçons and a big houses like Vuitton and how they interact with each other in the store.  Turns out Joffe sees one strong common value that overrides any perceived differences.   “The great synergy that arises is the result of the dichotomy, and is possible because there are many values in common such as the highest value placed on creation all the while respecting tradition and authenticity.  With so called mainstream houses like Prada and Vuitton, it all feels very natural because they have great visions and implicitly understand what we are trying to do.”

I wanted to explore this special union with a shoot which sees Ghesquière’s living and breathing beyond the catwalk and the campaign images.  Together with photographer Martin Zähringer (editor of Is in Town) and model and artist Phoebe Collings James (who incidentally used to work at Dover Street Market), we shot key pieces from the collection catching stray rays of daylight, coming into the many nooks and crannies in Dover Street Market London, before it opened its doors.  As we were shooting, Collings James’ enthusiasm for the pieces was palpable.  “I’m not sure which piece I love more… they’re all so brilliant!,” she said as she changed from one outfit to the next.  On Phoebe, memorable pieces like the printed ski zip-up, the gradiated matte sequinned skirt, the cut-out floral and leather dress and the hefty mono-earring all took on a different attitude.  “I knew he’d do something brilliant but the understated genius of it was a wonderful surprise,” said Joffe, when asked about his thoughts on Ghesquière’s debut collection.  That understated quality is highlighted by Phoebe, who wafted in and out of DSM’s hidden corners, whilst being captured with quiet strength by Zähringer.    

Louis Vuitton landing into Dover Street Market is the big bang beginning to what will be an eventful September for Dover Street Market as celebrations of its ten year anniversary really kick in, which I will delve into later on.  Kawakubo is already looking forward to DSM’s future as an installation themed around “The Next Ten Years” will take over the store and the whole façade of the building.  “We hope to make every DSM distinct and independent but true to our core values, Dover Street Market London is dear to our heart because it was the first,” said Joffe.  “It’s always changing and evolving along its path and getting fuller… the walls are bulging.”  Those ‘bulging’ walls are dear to many all over the world, far beyond the CdG nucleus family – to designers, to customers, to creatives and to anyone who is even a remote enthusiast of aesthetics.  Why?  It’s that powerful common thread that ties everything and everyone within the store.  “That every one has something to say, that they have a strong vision of who they are, that they are the best they can be, that they are open to breaking the rules and are unafraid of freedom.”

Louis Vuitton at Dover Street Market London until the 14th October with a takeover of the DSM corner window from the 1st until the 15th September

Credits: Photographer: Martin Zähringer, Hair: Magda Tucholsk, Make Up: Katy Nixon, Model: Phoebe Collings James