Louis Vuitton Draws Stars for ‘Dune’-Worthy Cruise Show at the Salk Institute
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Louis Vuitton drew a host of stars to San Diego’s seaside enclave of La Jolla on May 2 to take in its otherworldly 2023 cruise collection runway show. Held at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies — founded by the late Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine, the event felt especially resonant given the COVID pandemic. As fashion-show guests entered the institute, some stopped to read a quote from Salk inscribed on the front steps: “Hope lies in dreams; in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.”
Artistic director of womenswear Nicolas Ghesquière told WWD that a primary draw for him in choosing the institute as the setting was the architecture. Designed by legendary Chicago architect Louis Kahn — with a travertine plaza including a central water feature conceived by Mexican architect Luis Barragán — the Brutalist concrete building, completed in 1965, is considered a masterpiece of modernism. He praised the edifice as “inspiring in its serenity, and it was a place with so much meaning.”
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For its star-studded front row, Louis Vuitton drew a host of actresses including Gemma Chan, Emma Roberts, Samara Weaving, Chloë Grace Moretz, Bridgerton‘s Phoebe Dynevor, Renate Reinsve, Ana de Armas, Deepika Padukone (Louis Vuitton’s first Indian brand ambassador) and Léa Seydoux, who is about to head to Cannes where she is starring in two new films. Leslie Mann attended with daughters Maude and Iris Apatow. Also spotted were Ava DuVernay, model Miranda Kerr, LACMA chief Michael Govan with wife Katherine Ross, and Billie Lourd with husband Austen Rydell.
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The clothing — items that would have looked at home among the costumes in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune — included futuristic bolero jackets hung with tinsel, bomber jackets, metallic pants and jacquard gowns. The New York Times called the show “a post-apocalyptic royal rave,” while Vogue said that the models, who included Olympians Eileen Gu and Dalilah Muhammad, looked like “Amazon superheroine goddesses.” Some carried skateboards while others sported metallic striped boots and sneakers.
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The show ended just ahead of the sun (which Louis Vuitton in its press release called the event’s “guest of honor”) setting over the Pacific Ocean. Mann, wearing gold tweed Fall 2022 Louis Vuitton trousers, told THR regarding the runway presentation, “I love all of the high boots, the leather pants were incredible. Incredible show, so gorgeous. It does have a little Dune element.”
Many guests leaving the show were met by protestors from PETA, denouncing the luxury brand for its use of fur.
Afterward, the evening continued at an after-party at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s La Jolla location where Grimes deejayed, guests took in a show of works by Niki de Saint Phalle and champagne and hors d’oeuvres were served on a series of terraces overlooking the ocean.
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