Louis Vuitton Relaunches its Iconic Multi-Coloured Collaboration with Takashi Murakami
The French maison is revisiting its collaboration with the Japanese artist from the early 2000s, launching rainbow-bright bags, luggage and accessories that have the same cult-status and crave appeal in 2025
If you’re a millennial, prepare yourself for the time-travelling power of Louis Vuitton’s latest collection – the maison has partnered once more with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, more than twenty years after their first collaboration, which cemented the maison as the It bag trend setter of the century.
Celebrated for his signature design codes – Takashi riffs on traditional Japanese art, sci-fi, anime and kawaii whimsy – the artist was the first creative to ever reimagine the iconic Louis Vuitton monogram since it was conceived in 1896. Collaborating in the early 2000s with the maison’s then creative director, Marc Jacobs, the pair created a multi-colour take on the original logo that became an influential pop-cult moment of the 21st century.
First appearing on the brand’s S/S 2003 runway, the rainbow motif then appeared upon the arm of every celebrity du moment – Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Campbell all became synonymous with the rainbow monogram, sporting it upon bags, accessories and luggage. Teen-movie mega hit Mean Girls also catapulted the Multicolore collection into ubiquity, as a key accessory and status symbol of ‘the plastics’ – the too-cool-for-school characters played by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams.
No one at the time, including Marc and Takashi themselves, could have predicted the impact the collaboration would have on the maison’s legacy. It projected the Louis Vuitton logo into all areas of pop culture, marrying art with fashion, film, and retail on a never-seen-before scale.
Now, the house is revisiting that success with Louis Vuitton x Murakami, a joyful re-edition of the original collection that features over 200 pieces, available from January 1. The collection features re-iterations of its iconic Multicolore monogram handbags, scarves, belts, luggage and sunglasses. Key handbag styles born after the original collaboration have now also been given the Multicolore treatment, such as the Capucines and the Coussin, reimagined in 33 colours and emblazoned with the collection’s signature cherry blossom and panda motifs. Such a pivotal moment requires serious star power, and brand ambassador Zendaya will add extra pizzazz to the maison’s upcoming campaign – a winning recipe that worked a treat two decades ago, and will no doubt taste just as sweet to Gen-Z today.
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