PARIS — Saoirse Ronan and Lisa look beautiful in Louis Vuitton’s spring campaign photos, and for good reason. The two brand ambassadors were photographed in front of works by contemporary French artist Laurent Grasso.
To celebrate the house’s campaign debut, the images shot by Steven Meisel play with the scale and atmosphere of Grasso’s retro-futuristic paintings, whose otherworldly landscapes will be featured at the Cours Carrée in Paris in October. It was also featured in three looks at the runway show held at . Louvre Museum.
The multidisciplinary artist said he felt a natural affinity with Nicolas Ghesquière, Vuitton’s artistic director of women’s collections.
“I was really impressed, for example, with the way he chose special and very important locations to hold his runway shows,” he told WWD.
“That’s something I’ve been very focused on in my work, because I believe that places have power and vibration. I’ve tried to capture that. I’ve made about 20 films so far. “and each one has focused on a very specific location and situation,” he added.
Saoirse Ronan appears in Louis Vuitton’s spring campaign.
Provided by Steven Meisel/Louis Vuitton
The two also share an interest in science fiction and what Ghesquière calls “collisions of time,” or in the case of this collection, Renaissance-inspired silhouettes.
The Vuitton campaign, which launches Thursday, features three works from Grasso’s “Studies in the Past” series, with historical techniques and compositions reminiscent of the monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic “2001:A.” It combines the anachronistic presence of the black rectangle. A journey through space. ”
The oil on wood piece is based on the black-and-white film Orchid Island, which was filmed in Taiwan and depicts an idealized vision of nature.
“I’ve always used travel through time and history as a means to twist reality and create fiction that doesn’t stick to the present in a literal or documentary way, but instead helps us think about the now.” he explained. “I think there are parallels there with Nicola’s inspiration and obsession with history.”
Grasso was excited about the way they tapped two brand ambassadors at the height of their success to leverage pop culture into the campaign. “Obviously the brand, their work and my paintings are in the background, but I think it’s a really great cocktail,” he said.
Blackpink’s Lisa appears in Louis Vuitton’s spring campaign.
Provided by Steven Meisel/Louis Vuitton
The French fashion house said Lisa (real name Larissa Manobar) and Ronan embody the concept of “soft power” that inspired Ghesquière’s spring collection.
Manobar, a member of the phenomenally successful K-pop group Blackpink with 105 million followers on Instagram, will star in season 3 of HBO’s hit series The White Lotus. , is preparing for her major screen debut and solidifying her solo career. ‘ is set in his home country of Thailand.
Ronan, a four-time Oscar nominee, has been active for more than 20 years and has been praised for the breadth and emotional expression of his work in films such as Little Women, Brooklyn and The Night Out.
The actress, who turned 30 last year, won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Greta Gerwig’s 2017 coming-of-age film Lady Bird, and most recently starred in the film adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s bestseller. He has also moved into producing “Outrun.” Memoir.
Saoirse Ronan appears in Louis Vuitton’s spring campaign.
Provided by Steven Meisel/Louis Vuitton
Grasso noted that he has created a number of public art works, including SolarWind, a light installation overlooking the Paris ring road, and said he was grateful for the opportunity to reach a wider audience. .
He noted that young people in Asia in particular have responded well to his work, which borrows aesthetics from video games and science fiction. Grasso, represented by Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris and Sean Kelly in New York, will present Orchid Island at Art Basel Hong Kong in March.
And in August, he will hold a solo exhibition at the Heresium Museum in Daejeon, South Korea, reprising the exhibition “Clouds Theory” that inspired his recent collaboration with Roman jeweler Bvlgari on the limited edition Octo Finissimo . clock.
“It’s a real gift for an artist to influence as many people as possible and escape the elitism and exclusivity that the art world sometimes imposes on itself,” he said. “By dabbling in other areas, I get to do what I’ve always wanted to do, which is take my work out of this bubble and share it with people I never expected.”