Louis Vuitton and Fragment Design once again unveil a joint collaboration. We spoke to Hiroshi Fujiwara, just before products arrived from Paris.
Photo & Text: Shoichi KAJINO

The announcement of a collaboration between both Louis Vuitton and Fragment Design for spring 2016 was sensational,till fresh in the memory for the record queue at Shinjuku Isetan Men’s pop-up store opening, becoming the only limited boutique in the world.

Equally well-known, Kim Jones and Hiroshi Fujiwara who both serve as artistic directors of the Louis Vuitton Men’s Collection are old friends, and their mutual trust and respect for each other over the years meant realizing their collaboration was inevitable. And for their fans, it is nice that this chapter is set to continue.

The two were already discussing ideas with each other in line with their storefront collaboration last year, “if we do it next time …”. Although the initial collaboration gave the existing Louis Vuitton format a Fragment-like twist, this time they have gone one step further with a collection made together, conceived and designed from the very beginning. A wide range of these items have also been developed from prêt-à-porter, to bags, shoes, leather goods, accessories, and watches.

JACKET ¥341,000 +tax, CARDIGAN ¥128,000 +tax (price estimate)

A fictitious band “LOUIS V. & THE FRAGMENTS” became the heart of the idea for this season’s pre-collection. Outerwear such as the ‘preppy’ style varsity cardigan and stadium jacket is particularly impressive.

SET OF 2 BANDANAS ¥33,000 +tax, POCHETTE ¥99,000 +tax, LONG WALLET ¥110,000 +tax, SMALL PURSE ¥49,000 +tax, SMALL WALLET ¥62,000 +tax, MESSENGER ¥221,000 +tax (price estimate)

BANDANA ¥67,000 +tax, SHIRT ¥101,000 +tax, BACKPACK ¥257,000 +tax, BOSTON BAG ¥222,000 +tax (price estimate)

Between a bag collection and monotone-centered prêt-à-porter, the colorful rainbow colored shawl is the most eye catching.
It has sentimental value. “Actually, it was something I talked about wanting to make together with Louis Vuitton around the time the POOL Aoyama opened in 2014, and it finally came together this time”.

The large drawstring-like tote bag was born when Hiroshi Fujiwara bought his own Louis Vuitton bag and added a felt cover to the handle for protection, tailoring it like a tote bag with the ‘LOUIS VUITTON’ house logo. Not only with monochrome cotton, but also a monogram pattern unique to Louis Vuitton.

TOTE BAG MONOGRAM ECLIPSE¥222,000 +tax, TOTE BAG MONOGRAM ¥222,000 +tax, TOTE BAG BLACK ¥222,000 +tax (price estimate)

SWEATSHIRT (WHITE) ¥80,000 +tax, SWEATSHIRT (BLACK) ¥80,000 +tax, HAWAIIAN SHIRT ¥101,000 +tax (price estimate)

STOLE ¥63,000 +tax, BERET ¥67,000 +tax, GILET ¥244,000 +tax (price estimate)

HIGH CUT SNEAKER ¥ 90,000 + tax, LOW CUT SNEAKER ¥ 80,000 + tax, JEANS ¥ 63,000 + tax (All scheduled price)

A pop-up store created by the collaboration of Louis Vuitton and Fragment Design will open in Harajuku "The Mass & Ba-tsu Art Gallery" from April 21st ahead of the world. In addition to the 2017AW pre-collection, limited items for pop stores, we have a wide variety of items such as products that will be exclusively sold in Japan.
There is also said to be special content such as hot-stamping prepared at ‘The Mass’ next to the pop-up store. With a digital installation by Daito Manabe, it will likely be a place where you can experience the collection devised by Kim Jones and Hiroshi Fujiwara in a variety of different ways.

LOUIS VUITTON in collaboration with FRAGMENT POP-UP STORE
The Mass & Ba-tsu Art Gallery & The Mass
5-11-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, TOKYO
2017.4.21(Fri) – 2017.5.5(Fri) 11:00-20:00

Contact: LOUIS VUITTON CLIENT SERVICE / Tel. 0120-00-1854