Last Thursday, June 20, Louis Vuitton invited a selected group of bloggers, VIPS and serious fashionistas to preview their 2009 Cruise Collection which will be available to the general public this November. The said event was held at Michelson Studio. According to the bloggers who attended, they we’re very pleased visually and artistically. Urgh, I wish I was also invited! They’re so lucky!

Products were juxtaposed against artistic renderings of the collection by artist Tanya Ling. Ling, best known for her work as a fashion illustrator, collaborated with Louis Vuitton in a series of pieces that reinterpret the enduring nautical theme of summer into painterly collection. The watercolors featured on the canvas paintings were translated into whimsically painted shorts, jackets and tops.

And as this is a cruise collection meant to carry one from the beach to the city and back, the materials fused utility with form. Neoprene bags immediately reminded us of trench coats referenced by Burberry for their current Spring Summer 2008 menswear collection. Neoprene, the material of wetsuits, was incorporated into bags and visors so girls won’t have to stress about the effects of water on their LV’s. Louis Vuitton is reinterpreting their staples for today’s lifestyle and vigour.

- hauteconcept.com

Images via Haute Concept, My It Things, Fashion Indie, and Gala Darling