Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami

Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami

Marilyn Trunk, 2007

Trunk: Exterior: Multi-coloured canvas, natural cowhide leather, brass and wood; Interior: microfibre textile

Handbags: Monogram multicolour canvas, alligator leather and brass

Produced by Louis Vuitton Malletier, France

Trunk closed: 39 1/4 x 22 1/2 x 25 1/2 (99.6 x 57.1 x 64.7 cm)

Trunk open: 39 1/4 x 22 1/2 x 52 inches (99.6 x 57.1 c 132.1 cm)

This steamer trunk from an edition of 5 dubbed the "Marilyn" - was designed by Louis Vuitton to showcase 33 Murakami bags, one for each of the colours of the Monogram Multicolour, in Canvas Monogram multicolour canvas, alligator leather and brass. First presented in 2007, during the Murakami retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Marilyn Trunk has compartments designed to display the bags in three-quarter profile, and five additional drawers to store accessories or documents. Perhaps more than any other major artist of his generation, 51-year-old Takashi Murakami has called into question the boundaries between art and commerce, a fascinating territory that he has explored with great success through his collaboration with Louis Vuitton. Murakami first began collaborating with the revered luxury goods producer in 2003, when Marc Jacobs joined the house as Creative Director. That year, Murakami took the famous Vuitton Monogram and made it his own by producing it in 33 different colours and applying it playfully on a classic bag - Time Magazine called it the number one moment in fashion of 2003.

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