In 2009, Kanye West, the self-styled ‘Louis Vuitton Don,’ collaborated with the fashion house on a sneaker line drawing inspiration from the science-fiction film Dune. The futuristic designs marked an early milestone in West’s fashion ambitions, foreshadowing his later, far larger impact on streetwear and sneaker culture.
Since his arrival Kanye West had an affinity for Louis Vuitton, sporting the designer backpacks and christening himself as the “Louis Vuitton Don.” Years later, Ye had the coveted opportunity to work with the fashion house in 2009 and introduced sneakers inspired by the science fiction movie Dune.
In 2008, Yeezy told The New York Times he hoped to attain an internship at Raf Simons or Louis Vuitton in London. The following year, he designed five sneakers for the French luxury brand, including a pair of red Louis Vuitton Dons that made their debut on the Paris runway.
The New York Times‘ T fashion blog, described them as “a monochromatic midtop with no frills, save for a quilted flap in the back, all the easier to tuck pants into.” During a 2009 Dazed interview, Kanye revealed the sneakers were inspired by Japanese pop art and a jacket with a huge collar from the 1984 David Lynch film Dune.
Louis Vuitton’s then-Creative Director Marc Jacobs recently sat down with Pharrell Williams for System Stories and described how the collaboration came about.
“He kept calling my office and saying he wanted to meet me… finally we got in touch with each other. We stayed on the phone for a couple of hours,” Jacobs divulged.
“We covered everything from music to pornography, you know, and art in between and fashion and everything. It was just very fluid like something happened, brought us together,” he explained.
“He said he wanted to do a sneaker. I said, ‘Let’s do it. Come over and that was just the way it was.’”
Despite Kanye West’s controversial reputation, his collaboration marked a pivotal milestone in his career, solidifying his status as one of the most influential and undeniable figures in the fashion industry.
SOURCES:
https://hypebeast.com/2008/7/kanye-wests-custom-louis-vuitton-backpack
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/fashion/04ROW.html
https://www.mtv.com/news/fzhw9o/kanye-wests-louis-vuitton-sneakers-inspired-by-dune
https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/1699/1/kanye-west-for-louis-vuitton
http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/mens-fashion-kanye-wests-vuitton-kicks/
https://hypebeast.com/2009/1/kanye-west-for-louis-vuitton-sneaker
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/
https://www.biography.com/history-culture/marc-jacobs https://youtu.be/qOJIlCNPnrE?si=OdEbyeeYCjQysBvg&t=395
