Parsons The New School for Design and Louis Vuitton North America held a live design competition in which students deconstructed pieces by Louis Vuitton Artistic Director and Parsons alumnus Marc Jacobs to create conceptual installations that address the rich heritage of the Louis Vuitton brand. Reconstruction 2.0 is the second year that Parsons has partnered with Louis Vuitton to re-imagine their collection.
Last evening, at a cocktail reception at Louis Vuitton Soho, a panel of judges including Patricia Field, Style.com Executive Editor Nicole Phelps, and Louis Vuitton North America Acting President Geoffroy van Raemdonck selected the winning team: Time Travel (Janelle Abbott, Zachary Clark, Emily Hudson, William Norris), whose process-focused work was conceived as a topographical map of space and time.
"Since the founding of the company more than 150 years ago, Louis Vuitton has been a dedicated supporter of creativity and innovation in the worlds of fashion and art," said van Raemdonck. "Our commitment to fostering creative talent makes it an honor for us to work with Parsons, one of the world's premier schools of art and design, for a second consecutive year. Many of these gifted fashion design students will go on to be industry leaders, and it is a great pleasure for Louis Vuitton to collaborate with them at the beginning of their exciting journey."
Armed with scissors, sewing machines, sketchbooks and fabric dye, six teams of students worked in real-time in the Louis Vuitton boutique in Soho, the Parsons galleries on Fifth Avenue, and its fashion building in Midtown for this daylong competition. At Louis Vuitton Soho, student teams developed their pieces at work stations set up amidst the retail counters and store displays, while shoppers and passersby got a firsthand look at the creative process.
"Parsons has a long tradition of building relationships with companies that share our commitment to design that is marked by innovation and quality. Our ongoing collaboration with Louis Vuitton is a natural fit," said Joel Towers, dean of Parsons. "Our students are excited to be working with the designs of one of our most prominent alumni, Marc Jacobs."
The winning team was awarded a trip to Paris to tour the Louis Vuitton Museum and workshop, Espace Louis Vuitton, and the brand's flagship Paris store.
"Following last year's successful competition, Reconstruction 2.0 takes it a step further by challenging students to create conceptual pieces that flirt with the realm of fine art," said Simon Collins, dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons. "Ultimately, the goal is to allow our students to stretch their creativity and take an experimental approach to fashion and textiles."