Louis Vuitton's Infinitely Kusama Collection (And All Its Hype) Will Have You Seeing Spots.

If you can connect the dots, you'll have seen this latest collaboration between luxury brand Louis Vuitton and 83 year old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, known for her dots, waves, pumpkins and brightly colored severe haircut, hyped to the hilt.



above: A wax figure of Yayoi Kusama stands in one of the window displays of Louis Vuitton's Flagship New York store

Along with the launch of the new womenswear ready-to-wear collection (the entire collection of which is shown further down in this post), the New York flagship store has been covered in dots with its windows filled with wax figures and miniature versions of the artist surrounded by her work and the collection:





The Whitney Museum has a Kusama Retrospective timed to coincide with the collection's release.



The Tate Museum just featured an exhibit of Kusama's works, and the line is accompanied by artworks that will be showcased in the Louis Vuitton New Bond Street Maison’s dedicated exhibition space.

Yayoi Kusama: Princess Of The Dots:


iPhone App:


As part of the collaboration with Yayoi Kusama, Louis Vuitton has created an iPhone app that turns any picture into a unique visual inspired by the artist’s signature waves or Dots and upload it to their online gallery, Visions of the Kusama World.



Collaborations between artists and fashion houses are nothing new, but this one is being heralded like the Second Coming.

The collection includes four subcategories based on the signature art styles of Yayoi Kusama: Dots, Waves, Pumpkin and Town. The expansive line includes Fashion and Fine Jewellery, Handbags, Small Leather Goods, Luggage, Scarves, Pareos, Pumps, Flats, Sunglasses and Ready-To-Wear fashions.


above: The pumpkin bag is a precious creation of galvanised metal with pure gold and resin

While I'm a fan of Kasuma's work, some of the pieces in the new collection are truly fabulous while others look like they came straight from Minnie Mouse's wardrobe closet. No doubt about it, you gotta like dots to like Louis Vuitton's Infinitely Kusama Collection.

The Infinitely Kusama Accessories:
Infinitely Kusama Pumps:

Infinitely Kusama flats:

Infinitely Kusama Watch, Collar, Snood and Shawl:

Infinitely Kusama Fashion Jewellery:

Infinitely Kusama Handbags and leather goods:

Infinitely Kusama Luggage:

Infinitely Kusama Pareos and Beach Towel:

Infinitely Kusama Pumpkin scarf and charm:

Infinitely Kusama Town Monogram Silk Scarf:

Infinitely Kusama Sunglasses:



The Ready to Wear Infinitely Kusama Womenswear collection:









Most of the collection is available in store only, but you can shop for some of the accessories online here

Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kasuma's Infinitely Kusama Collection

Jenny Holzer Keds for The Whitney IS WHAT I WANT

Artist Jenny Holzer, best known for her projections, LED installations and truisms -- artwork made with words, is collaborating with Keds for the Whitney Museum to launch a special collection that features her famous phrase "PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT" which has previously appeared on everything from golf balls, a BMW v12 race car, condoms, on wooden postcards and installed on buildings and more as art projects.







The KEDS, which feature the phrase, will be available in both high and low tops, canvas and leather and in black or white:





above: artist Jenny Holzer, courtesy of artnet
"It's great that Keds and the Whitney are friends," states Jenny Holzer. "I have a renewed respect for shoe designers."

The collection, which is expected to retail for approximately $70-$75 a pair, will be available at select Bloomingdale's stores nationwide beginning in July, as well as on bloomingdales.com and keds.com starting in July 2010.

All Keds’ profits from the Jenny Holzer kicks will benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Special Keds collections by painters Laura Owens and Sarah Crowner, all of whom have exhibited at The Whitney, will follow.

Special thanks to Alex Asher Sears for bringing this to my attention.

Fashion & Art Collide: The Gap Artist Shirts For The Whitney

And here are the shirts:

Kerry James Marshall:


Barbara Kruger:



Glenn Ligon:


Marilyn Minter:


Cai Guo-Qiang:


Ashley Bickerton:

Sarah Sze:



Rirkrit Tiravanija:

Hanna Liden:


Chuck Close:

Jeff Koons:

Kenny Scharf:

Kiki Smith:




Where can you buy them? A few select GAP stores, online at GAP.com, a few art museums in the US, and Colette in Paris for between $28 and $32.

As you might expect, many are already sold out (hint: look on ebay for those)!

the t-shirts at the Gap.

the whitney.