Fashion Week Handbags: Louis Vuitton Spring 2011

In hindsight, perhaps last season’s demure, ladylike Louis Vuitton show should have tipped us off that Louis Vuitton Spring 2011 would be a wild, colorful ride through safari and Asian kitsch. Creative director Marc Jacobs doesn’t like to go in any one direction for more than a few moments at a time, and a collection with a strong point of view is always a good indication that the next collection will be just as strong, but in the opposite direction.
Instead of last season’s dozens of neutral variations on the classic Speedy theme, Vuitton gave us loud, colorblocked clutches and small shoulder bags that screamed in artfully clashing technicolor. Logos were visible (this is Louis Vuitton, after all), but other than a few clutches that proclaimed VUITTON in all capitals, the famous monogram was less obtrusive than it usually is in the average LV collection. These bags will surely leave some heads shaking, particularly among clients who saw Fall 2010 as a possible return to the brand’s roots, but they’re exactly on trend and so cheerful that I can’t help but like them.