PHOTO: Louis Vuitton is Rei Kawakubo's Guest

Even though Vuitton’s luxury seemed unobtainable 30 years ago, Kawakubo has now decided to make an excusive collection for them.

The imaginative and individualistic vision of luxury will take form when Louis Vuitton opens its doors inside the boutique Comme des Garçons in Tokyo, on September 4, 2008. The main idea behind the whole project was Rei Kawakubo’s memories. Back in 1978, as a young designer she saw the opening of Louis Vuitton’s first store in Japan, and she was fascinated with the work by French artists. To her, that luxury at the time seemed unobtainable. Thirty years later, Rei wanted to refresh her old memories, and cooperation between Comme des Garçons and Louis Vuitton was born.

To commemorate Louis Vuitton’s thirtieth anniversary in Japan, the intellectual of the fashion industry dedicated herself to redesigning the whole Comme des Garçons boutique in Kottodori, Omotesando. The results of the joint project with Louis Vuitton will be exhibited from September 4 to mid December. The fruit of this cooperation is an exclusive collection of six bags, and they will be presented inside the minimalist premises where a historical overview of the iconic French fashion house will be shown.

Inspired by her memories, Rei Kawakubo chose Vuitton’s legendary Monogram in order to make party bags, small night bags with handles made from natural leather. The designer also redid two of Luois Vuitton’s classic bags, the Papillon model is decorated with small animals, whilst the Mini HL gained multiple small handles. Louis Vuitton on the other hand redid two iconic designs from the 1970s by Petit Marceau and Sac 2 Poches that Rei saw in Vuitton’s first display. The collection will only be available in the Louis Vuitton store in Comme des Garçons, and will not be available via the internet.

“It is impossible to overstate Rei Kawakubo's influence on modern fashion” said the creative director of Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs.  “I find it wonderful to think that 30 years ago, this immense talent, someone who has inspired so many others, was inspired by Louis Vuitton”, he added.

Yves Carcelle, the president and executive director of Louis Vuitton, also said that he is proud that he could help Rei Kawakubo to relive her memories in such an original and creative way, which also brought a new meaning to luxury.

“These are party bags to celebrate the 30 years of Louis Vuitton in Japan. In designing them, I have kept Louis Vuitton's traditional concept as it is, but sometimes two handles become one, sometimes two handles become eight... It has been a remarkably exciting opportunity for me to have been able to participate in Louis Vuitton's traditional design and heritage” said Rei, reports bagsnob.com.

Take a look at the exclusive collection by Louis Vuitton and Comme des Garçons HERE.