Why did Nicolas Ghesquière choose this medieval location to stage Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2026 show? Find out below.
Within the castle walls of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of womenswear Nicolas Ghesquière unveils his Cruise 2026 collection. One of the most significant medieval gothic buildings in Europe, the Palais des Papes was once a fortress and papal palace, now home to the arts. His army of models parade down the stage in the courtyard, furnished in leather armour, sequined and metallic tunics, regal brocade, and heraldic coats.
It is not a runway show, insists Ghesquière in this exclusive interview with BAZAAR. Instead, it is an homage to theatre and the performing arts. “Onstage, [my collection] takes on the full dimension of theatre, projecting an image and charisma, accentuating
a style and character. It accompanies, supports and empowers,” he says.
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- Inside the Palais des Papes in Avignon
He continues:
“The models walk around the central part of the amphitheatre, and the guests are onstage. We inverted the
relationship with the spectator, who now sits on this legendary stage as an integral part of scenography by the artist Es Devlin. Who is watching whom? It brings yet another perspective to the scene.”
The driving force behind this ambitious quest comes from his own experience at Festival d’Avignon, a festival first
founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar to celebrate the performing arts. For Ghesquière, the summer of 2000 left a “major impact” on him; he remembers “spending two days completely immersed in the incredible rooms at the Palais”. There, he discovered the work of American video artist Bill Viola, French sculptor Christian Boltanski, French artists Pierre et Gilles, and German choreographer Pina Bausch, explored the ‘La Beauté in fabula’ (‘Beauty in Story’) exhibition, and watched performances by Icelandic avant-garde singer Björk. The “aesthetic shock” of seeing contemporary artistic expression in a Gothic palace was something he could not forget.
“It was like a collision of time,” he marvels. “Fashion, all the more so today, is theatrical too–a spectacle and performance
aspect. It’s all about pure artistic expression, the thrill of the stage,” Ghesquière states resolutely. He holds a quote by the late Jean Vilar close to his heart: “Doing theatre here is impossible, so let’s do it.” And this pledge to creative expression bleeds into every aspect of his Cruise 2026 collection.
