With his Fall/Winter 2011-2012 collection for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs explored the mysterious allure of fashion and fetish. At the heart of the collection, crystallizing its central theme, was a magical object: the Lockit handbag, created in 1958 and revisited in a myriad guises – each one an intricately worked and painstakingly crafted objet du désir.

Monogram Fetish

The most familiar of the bunch, the Lockit comes in the classic Monogram canvas, reinterpreted with an ultra-glossy patent finish in line with the collection’s play on extremes of matte and shine. Key elements of the design, such as the padlock from which the Lockit takes its name, are also covered in Monogram canvas, with touches of ivory resin – for the key holder, for example – providing a delicate counterpoint.

Monogram Fetish Lockit Clutch MM
Size: to be added
Price: tba

Monogram Fetish Lockit BB
Size: tba
Price: tba

Monogram Fetish Lockit
Size: tba
Price: tba

Monogram Fetish Lockit Voyage
Size: tba
Price: tba

Pulsion

The Lockit recurs in a second total-look theme in shearling, with even the handles and key holder covered in winter’s warmest and coziest material. Super adorable. My friend and I even call this bag the ‘plushie’.

Lockit Pulsion
Size: tba
Colors: Caramel, Gris, Marine
Price: US$3450

Lockit Voyage Pulsion
Size: tba
Color: Marine
Price: US$6100

Monogram Desire

This version of the Lockit features the iconic Monogram pattern woven into a sophisticated nylon jacquard in strict black or navy, reflecting the collection’s focus on uniform. Tonal resin handles and hardware complement the design, while the larger of two sizes can be folded over and carried from its shoulder strap.

Monogram Desire Lockit Vertical MM
Size: tba
Colors: Noir, Bleu
Price: tba

Monogram Desire Lockit Vertical GM
Size: tba
Colors: Noir, Bleu
Price: tba

Cuir Obsession

Louis Vuitton played not only with texture but also with proportion. The horizontally stretched Lockit East-West in matte rubberized calfskin is accented with glossy tape. For this line, which also features the tiny Lockit BB, the emblematic key holder is integrated into the bag in an ingenious tromple-l’oeil effect.

Cuir Obsession Lockit East-West
Size: tba
Color: Noir
Price: tba

Cuir Obsession Lockit BB
Size: tba
Color: Gris
Price: tba

Monogram Addiction

At the opposite end of the scale, the medium sized Lockit Vertical comes in matte rubber with the Monogram pattern in lustrous three-dimensional lamé embroidery.

Monogram Addiction Lockit Vertical MM
Size: tba
Colors: Bleu, Marron
Price: tba

Monogram Fascination

This line plays on the juxtaposition of matte and shine. Patent lambskin, for example, renders the season’s sumptuous mustard, emerald, and pearl gray hues to perfection on the classic Lockit, contrasting its shiny finish with Monogram embroidery in matte bouclette, with the Lockit BB Frame looks deceptively demure in black.

Monogram Fascination Lockit BB Frame
Size: tba
Color: Noir
Price: tba

Monogram Fascination Lockit
Size: tba
Colors: Moutarde, Perrier, Gris
Price: tba

Les Extraordinaires Devotion

Finally, the season’s two Extraordinaires are the classic Lockit and the small Lockit clutch in patent alligator. Both take the fetish theme to the extremes seen on the catwalk, the former with a golden brass chain, the latter with a chain and handcuff to attach the woman forever (or not) to her Louis Vuitton bag.

Lockit Clutch PM Devotion
Size: tba
Color: Anthracite
Price: tba

Lockit Devotion
Size: tba
Color: Perrier
Price: tba

Images via Louis Vuitton

True to the spirit of the House’s savoir-faire, Louis Vuitton presents Louis Vuitton 4Motion™, an eyewear line dedicated to the world of sports. These sunglasses were designed to satisfy all the demands of the connoisseur, offering an innovative concept that blends outstanding performance with superb quality.

Water, Fire, Earth, Air… Louis Vuitton 4MotionTM sunglasses come in four different versions, each specifically tailored to a sporting genre. Water is designed for aquatic sports, Fire for extreme sports, Air for winter sports, and Earth which is supplied with interchangeable brown or yellow lenses, is for outdoor sports.

Introducing incredible advanced technology, these sunglasses are particularly unique as they provide a full adaptability Louis Vuitton developed four unique mechanisms so that the frame adapts to both the facial morphology and the desired use:

• adjustable frame-front angle

• adjustable nose pads

• adjustable temple arm curve

• adjustable temple arm length for maximum stability

Each version is also fitted with specific, technical lenses, all with characteristics that optimise the practice of every activity (oleophobic, scratch-resistant, anti-reflective, impact-resistant). Louis Vuitton 4Motion Sunglasses are available at Louis Vuitton stores for US$695 (for the Water, Fire, & Air), and US$780 for the Earth.

Images via Louis Vuitton

For Spring/Summer 2012, the notion of the Louis Vuitton bag and luggage is a key theme throughout the entire collection and roots the overall approach to a sense of the Maison legacy. Accessories are frequently evolved from bag archival details and materials this season. VVN leather, the traditional trim for Monogram luggage, provides a particular accent that runs throughout as strapping detailing on outerwear, in the distinctive flat-pac sandals and on many of the new “mix and match” belts. Wooden marquetry elements – another feature from the wider legacy of Louis Vuitton – also make an appearance in accessories.

This season sees the debut of a number of new, distinctive bag styles for men including the Champs Elysees quilted rucksacks and weekend bags. But at the heart of this season is the new Nomade leather, softer and revisited in a rich palette of olive green, burgundy and tobacco. Eponymous of the legendary savoir-faire of Louis Vuitton, this season its simple and classic construction in a variety of styles points to the spirit of the house and punctuates this collection throughout. It also features the most traditional and the most personal of all the logos in the classic “V”. It originally came from the steamer bag of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, one of the Maison’s very own iconic world travellers.

Photos on the gallery below. More at ILVOELV’s Facebook Page.

Images via Louis Vuitton / Mazen Saggar

A journey, both literal and metaphorical, is at the heart of Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2012 collection. “At its simplest level, it is about the idea of travel and what it means at this point in time,” explains Kim Jones, the Men’s Style Director, who will sign his debut collection for Louis Vuitton under the Artistic Direction of Marc Jacobs. “After all travel forms the foundation of the Vuitton brand. This is a fundamental part of the lineage and language of Louis Vuitton and is a central component of what it stands for today,” continues Jones. “At the same time, the collection is looking at the idea of a personal journey. It forms the notion of a coming-of-age through exploration and travel.”

From the Ivy League to Africa and then the decadence of a Jet Set nightlife, this “bildungsroman” is inspired by the figure of Peter Beard, the artist and long-term chronicler of East Africa and its wildlife. It was not uncommon to find this Yale graduate amongst the New York demi-monde of the seventies, in the South of France with The Rolling Stones, or on his ranch in Kenya adjacent to Karen Blixen’s. “He is a hero of mine,” says Jones of the artist. “This is a nod to him and a fictionalised imagining of that period of travel to Africa in the sixties and seventies. At the same time I grew up in Africa and it is a subject I frequently return to. It is also about how men live their lives, travel and reach maturity now with a practical view of what they want to wear.”

In so keeping, this season sees a focus on the insouciant, practical and luxurious style of a modern global traveller. It takes into account both an appreciation for traditional garments and a contemporary approach to dress and spans the divide between the two.

From the re-imagining of a preppy athleticism and a reworking of traditional notions of sportswear, such as the rowing vest with the appliqued handkerchief traditional V logo, the iconic Harrington jacket, the club ties, the luxurious knits – a cashmere spin on the traditional grey marl and the vicuna badged sweaters – or the relaxed sports jackets and suits in super lightweight wool in the first “varsity” section. To the reworking of contemporary sporting technological garments and fabrics in luxurious natural fibres, whilst still maintaining their practical performance and durability – a staple part of Louis Vuitton’s contemporary take on menswear. Here grey silks are triple bonded to keep their performance edge and breathability in the modern varsity running suit and “pacamacs”, whilst pockets are laser cut in silk windbreakers and edged with performance tape.

The “Africa” section features an exploration of the iconic Damier check, and is a recurrent motif throughout the rest of the collection. Here the Damier startlingly morphs into the traditional blue and red checks of the Masai, reworked in super fine merino wool blankets and scarves in cashmere and cotton as well as in cashmere blend sweaters and shorts. Hints of the dominant Masai theme first appear in the varsity section through the woven red and blue leather thong acces- sories that punctuate the entire collection, frequently adorned with mother of pearl inlaid beetle pendants. This section also features a more conventional take on the notion of safari clothes in olive and stone and features brushed-backed chevron cashmere knits, “Champs Elysees” quilted jackets with washed performance leathers for outwear, and luxurious two-toned desert boots and technical sandals with alligator leather accents and wooden clasps.

In the final “night life” section there is an insouciant play on the traditional dinner suit with a relaxed move from day to night in the tailoring. The tailored short suit is a key silhouette that once again makes an appearance as it does through- out the collection. Here it features as a shawl-collared self-lining silk and wool, made with precision craftsmanship. There is a notion of the heavy silk pajama suit as a replacement for more formal evening attire. Here pajama pants are also teamed with an alligator café racer jacket, each panel handpicked from wild alligator hide to avoid imperfections. The distinctive flat-pac, press-stud sandals make an appearance once more, this time in matt alligator. A reworking of the Damier check appears again in the shirting, this time with a ink-stained or watercolour feel. The classic Monogram also features as an inky, midnight silk-screened scarf and silk evening scarves predominate throughout. A 24 carat gold thread shot tie is the final insouciant say in luxury here.

Check out the full collection below or at ILVOELV’s Facebook Page.

Images via Louis Vuitton / Ludwig Bonnet