Fashion

These Louis Vuitton x Jeff Koons Bags Are Better Than Art

by Kelsey Nelson
Louis Vuitton

The number one thing on my bucket list until a few months ago was to see Vincent van Gogh's painting, "The Starry Night." So you can imagine my delight at the launch of Louis Vuitton's collaboration with Jeff Koons. The collection is called "Masters," and is the art-fashion hybrid that would have actually kept me from daydreaming through my college art history course.

Koons drew from his "Gazing Ball" paintings, a series of large hand-painted reproductions of painting by the Old Masters. The intention is to generate appreciation for old works by bringing them to a contemporary audience.

The bags feature the artists name prominently on the bag — in other words, it's a mobile art history lesson, and will drop some serious art knowledge to anyone manages to score one.

Fashion and design are art forms in themselves, but they aren't always viewed in that light. Some view fashion as having the possibility to be art if it's, for example, an expensive haute couture piece. But fashion can show us as much about a person, a time period, and an emotion as a painting can.

Regardless of if you view fashion as art, these bags make you at least think about the two in relation to each other. These bags make you think about the distinctions between the two and what happens when you literally put art onto fashion.

Some of the works featured on the bags are not each respective artists most famous work. This might make someone who sees them want to know more about the artist's work or gain a different appreciation for art.

The collection features a few of the greatest artists of all time, like Peter Paul Rubens.

Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" graces the bags as well.

The iconic Fragonard painting, "Girl With Dog" is among the line:

Each bag has a color scheme that compliments the original painting, like these soft pink handles.

Some of the bags, like the one featuring "Mars, Venus, and Cupid" by Titian are previewed on the brand's Instagram account.

While this shot doesn't feature the actual bag itself, the painting on the wall is thematically the same. The Titian bags feature a pop of hot pink.

While it might seem strange to see alterations to a famous work of art, and see it used to sell a product, it gets people talking about art. There isn't a wrong way to appreciate art, and anything that gets more appreciation for or sparks more interest in the arts is a good thing in my book. I love to go and see van Gogh's works in person, and I would also love to rock one of these bags.