6 Architectural Wonders of the World Everyone Should Visit, According to Nicolas Ghesquière
1. Bob Hope house, Palm Springs, California, U.S.
“Every time I went to Palm Springs, I used to look up at a house built into a mountainside overlooking the Californian desert. I remember trying to access it once, but couldn’t as it was a private residence designed [by architect John Lautner] for [the entertainers] Bob and Dolores Hope. When we decided to show the Cruise 2016 collection in California, the Bob Hope house was between owners. The collection was inspired by [film director] Robert Altman’s *3 Women—*a very strange, contemplative movie from 1977 with an almost feminist cult spirit—and the 1950s interior decoration contrasting with Lautner’s radical vision spoke to the community of women I was designing for.
This show established my vision for associating cruise collections with architectural discovery for years to come. Louis Vuitton is about different ways of traveling after all; of finding new places.”
2. Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“The [Brazilian architect] Oscar Niemeyer–designed Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, where we presented Cruise 2017, looks so futuristic, and for a while now my collections have [revolved around] the theme of time. At Louis Vuitton, we integrate what are considered historical, almost costume-like references into a contemporary wardrobe. I love this hybridization; it sometimes seems awkward or strange, and that’s what drew me to the Niterói building—I admire Niemeyer’s bravery. Fashion is about proposing something that might not seem beautiful at first, but we adapt and through our curiosity it becomes beautiful.”
