The Second Louis Vuitton x Murakami Collab Isn't a Surprise — It's a Victory Lap
Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami's first collaboration was so far ahead of its time when it launched in 2002 that it's hard to put into words. As such, when Louis Vuitton and Murakami reunite in early 2025, the ensuing collection will fit so neatly into the contemporary fashion scene that it doesn't at all feel like a retread or even a surprise.
Instead, LV x Murakami round two is basically a victory lap.
Sure, it's also a cash-conscious maneuver reflective of tumbling luxury revenues, a sure-fire sales smash akin to 2022's Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama redux.
But LV x Murakami also demonstrates the brilliance of the original partnership and the prescient genius of one Marc Jacobs, who oversaw LV at the time and presented LV x Murakami as part of the fashion house's Spring/Summer 2003 offering, rich with rainbow-monogrammed handbags and accessories patterned with Murakami's anime-inspired characters.
The luxury landscape in 2002 is almost alien compared to today's scene. No social media, obviously, but also no big-time artist-luxury crossovers, really.
There were moments here and there to be sure: savvy labels like Prada and COMME des GARÇONS would occasionally send artists, like Basquiat, down the runway or partner with them on campaigns and creative endeavors like Prada Marfa. More stoic houses like Hermès might simply partner with an artist for a special accessory or two.
But there really wasn't such a thing as full-scale seasonal collaborations, certainly not at the scale of LV x Murakami.
Auction house Sotheby's, in its typically effusive way, once said that the team-up "defined a generation" but it was not really exaggerating at all.
If anything, that's an understatement.
"Our collaboration has produced a lot of works and has been a huge influence and inspiration to many," Jacobs said in 2008. "It has been and continues to be a monumental marriage of art and commerce. The ultimate crossover — one for both the fashion and art history books. The best part is that it continues, it grows, it morphs and still excites."
Jacobs was right but even he didn't know how right he was.
Following LV x Murakami, Jacobs would repeat the feat with Kusama, Richard Prince, and Stephen Sprouse, all important and influential in their own ways. But his partnership with Murakami reshaped the luxury landscape akin to his similarly prophetic early '90s "grunge" runway show.
Now, the art-meets-fashion conceit is evoked by everyone from the world's largest luxury labels to streetwear brands.
Kim Jones' entire oeuvre is steeped in this exact proposition. Supreme, which issued its own Murakami collab to much fanfare a few years ago, angled these sort of unexpected collaborations to build its international presence and in turn shape streetwear. Murakami's subsequent commercialization is also tied to the success of his LV line — yes, he was already a moneymaker but the LV collab lifted him into the stratosphere.
You could argue that LV x Murakami wasn't the sole reason that a lot of these things happen but it's certainly the clearest catalyst.
And a lot of collaborations are described as a big deal even when they aren't. But Louis Vuitton x Murakami really was.
As such, this second collection, likely to be as equally expansive as the immense Kuama offering when it launches on January 1 via Louis Vuitton's website and stores, is a true victory lap for all involved.
And even for some uninvolved: Thank you, Marc Jacobs.
