Louis Vuitton is extending its fine jewelry offering with a new line called “les Gastons Vuitton”. Described by the luxury trunk-maker as “unisex”, the jewelry is aimed primarily at a previously under-represented male target, whose commercial potential is immense.
Louis Vuitton has just launched a new line of jewelry products, ostensibly for men but presented as unisex.
As the name suggests, this collection of 18 masculine-looking pieces was conceived as a vibrant tribute to the House’s heritage, in the light of new generations with a more relaxed relationship to jewelry.
Les Gastons Vuitton is as much a pun on boys as it is a tribute to Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the founder’s grandson.
A first collection for men
Since 2001, Louis Vuitton has been making more than just trunks, bags and luxury ready-to-wear: the Parisian Maison also produces jewelry.
However, the world’s most powerful luxury brand had never before made a jewellery incursion into the male market, as jewelry has until now been essentially the preserve of a female target group.
Les Gastons Vuitton © Louis Vuitton
However, the new relationship with masculinity conveyed by social networks and the new role models (Timothée Chalamet, Harry Style, Sam Smith…) and the gender fluidity favored by Generation Z have changed all that.
As Francesca Amfitheatrof, Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton’s watch and jewelry collections, reminds us, “men are more adventurous and interested in jewelry“.
So much so that, in this quest for singularity, jewelry has carved out a place for itself in the new masculinities.
A Japanese-born Briton, the former artistic director of Tiffany & Co from 2013 to 2017 (a Maison that launched a men’s line in 2019) has made a name for herself in jewelry, but also in leather goods and silverware. This collection introduces a new material.
Prized by the Japanese for eyewear that is as thin as it is strong, titanium has made its entry into the French Maison, to the point of giving its name to the first collection in the Les Gastons Vuitton line, “Blue Titanium”.
For the designer, “this collection is a bit like jeans: everyone owns one, and the more you wear them, the more you love them.”
Les Gastons Vuitton © Louis Vuitton
This first men’s jewelry collection features rings, pendants, necklaces, military plates, curb chains, bracelets and earrings.
Although it is undoubtedly “the smallest trunk ever created by the Maison“, the stud earring named “malle” costs 1,900 euros, while the “masterpiece” necklace in white gold and diamonds costs 145,000 euros.
Predominantly in silver, the collection embraces the materials and shapes dear to the hearts of Generation Z, adepts of layering. Laser cutting gives the monogram motif a contemporary resonance.
Vibrant men’s jewelry
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Featured Photo: Les Gastons Vuitton © Louis Vuitton
