Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquiere chose one of the most famous buildings in California for Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2023 fashion show, the Salk Institute in San Diego. The fashion show, which will take place on May 12, will underline Ghesquiere’s passion for architecture. Working at Louis Vuitton since 2013, Ghesquiere preferred locations that stand out with their architecture for all Cruise fashion shows. In recent years, the Bob Hope Estate in Palm Springs, MAC Niteroi in Brazil, the Miho Museum in Kyoto, and the TWA Flight Center in New York have hosted Louis Vuitton’s Cruise collections.
“After spending so much time in California, I was drawn to the idea of doing a show there again,” Ghesquiere told Women’s Wear Daily. “The Salk Institute has been a great place for me over the years, and Louis Kahn’s stunning Brutalist architecture against this extraordinary setting of the Pacific Ocean and California sunset inspires me endlessly.”
Estonian-born American architect Kahn completed the Salk research campus in 1965. This for-profit organization dedicated to biomedical research is named after its founder, virologist Dr. Jonas Salk. Salk developed one of the first polio vaccines in 1955.
Louis Vuitton, who will be putting on a show at the Salk Institute for the first time, had previously chosen this location for its 2019 travel campaigns. The Salk Institute was used as the background in Louis Vuitton’s book California Issue, “The Institute remains an enduring reference and inspiration for the house,” the house explains.