On October 5th 2011, in the fashion capital of the world; Paris, Louis Vuitton decided to use the carousel as a source of inspiration for the release of their 2012 Spring/Summer collection deisgned by Mark Jacobs. Below is the full length event which shows the unveiling of a white carousel and proceeds to the performance of models getting off the carousel in an orderly fashion, to walk around and parade their wares.
The visual imagery of the white carousel turning around and around is stunning. Completely stirpped of colour and decoration, the carousel becomes a place of innocent fantasy. "A carousel of 48 horses, one for every model, each of whom looked adorable, in their sugared almond coloured princess dresses and twinkly skirt suits." (Telegraph.co.uk). Adorned with oversized cut out daisy fabrics and buttoned-up blouse collars, the models wore baby blue, soft yellow and mint green outfits creating an innocent-girl look about them.
Even though the models are dressed in 'pretty, innocent, feminine' clothing, there is something eery about the whole performance. As they strutted around with their hair pulled back into a tight bun framed with a tiny tiara, I couldn't help but look at the expressions on their faces. They were more reminiscent of little girls forced to do something that they just did not want to do, rather than the fun filled expressions you would expect to see on children's faces who were surrounded by a carousel.
The icy white surrounds confirms this as the carousel looks more like an ice sculpture, a place of coldness; without emotion. The horses move up and down, ever so slightly, suggesting a slow and painful escape if one is to try. The models appear to be trapped in an alternative world, a place where they cannot escape. They eventually do escape and at the end of the clip, we see the designer come out in all his white glory, triumphant in his creation.
The music chosen was perfect in creating the eeriness of the show. It is by Islandic musician, Bjork, from her album titled Vespertine, released in 2001. I ended up doing a google search on the album and found it described as "creating a quiet, introverted world." The definition of the word vespertine is; 1. of, relating to, or occurring in the evening <vespertine shadows> 2. active, flowering, or flourishing in the evening. Flourishing at night. Hmm. These models were to look like the perfect image of feminine innocence but the music suggested they would 'flourish' at night creating a perfect contradiction to what the designer had intended with the look of his show.
I came across these photos as I did my research and what I found intriguing was the long list of comments posted by people about the photographs. Below are some that I pulled out;
I love the photography and the outfits, but what really makes it is the “it’s a merry go round, but whatever” expressions they show.
Kate
October 6, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Frothy, fantasy, pastels. The models have a little girl lost look about them (emphasized by the fact that most of them have little bruises and blemishes on their legs, possibly enhanced by the colors and lighting). The shoes are killer, though, and seem to act as a reminder that this is not a little girl’s world.
Bobb
