All aboard Louis Vuitton’s AW25 collection

There’s no denying that Louis Vuitton committed to their theme for AW25. The latest collection from the maison’s creative designer for womenswear, Nicolas Ghesquière, was based on train travel and the many emotions that come with it — from the excitement of departure to the comfort of coming home. The setting, then (namely a hidden inner courtyard in the Gare du Nord, which Louis Vuitton had renovated especially) was the pièce de résistance of the fall collection. 

It was here that the star-studded guest list — Emma Stone, Chloe Grace Moretz and Jaden Smith to name just a few attendees — took a whistle-stop tour of the maison through the garments on show, from its travelwear roots (Vuitton were the original luggage makers in the golden age of rail travel) to Ghesquière’s interpretation of this place where “all emotions converge”.

The models got the memo, too, taking the runway at breakneck speed like commuters racing to catch their connections. The garments themselves also harked back to times gone by, spanning vintage-looking picnic blanket dresses to tiered ra-ra skirts, mixed in with the modern utility of pieces like leather cargo shorts and rain macs. 

True to form for a brand born from travel innovation, though, the accessories were the heroes of the show. The house introduced “L’Express”, a reimagining of the classic Keepall, but the line up of carryables extended to everything from reimagined Speedy and Petite Malle bags to ’50s vanity cases and hat boxes. The star was probably the street lamp bag that actually illuminates like a lantern — a marker of a show illuminating the past, while trailblazing for the next season of fashion.