Nicolas Ghesquière's Pre-Fall 2023 Collection for Louis Vuitton Is Made to Move

By The Citizen on May 1, 2023

The fashion house staged its latest runway show in South Korea over the weekend.

On Saturday, luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton highlighted South Korea’s status as a fashion force by staging its Pre-Fall 2023 collection on Seoul’s Jamsugyo Bridge. The presentation marked Nicolas Ghesquière‘s first pre-fall show (the creative director has staged pre-collection runways in the past, but usually for its cruise collections), and also the brand’s runway debut in South Korea.

The event came shortly after the news that Louis Vuitton parent company LVMH had entered into a deal with the Korea Tourism Organization and Seoul Metropolitan Government to create content and events in the city through 2023, capitalizing off of the country’s booming entertainment industry.

HoYeon Jung opening for Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2023
Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2023 in Seoul. Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

With audience members positioned just a few feet from the bridge’s railings overlooking the river, the location made for a scenic backdrop.

The collection itself is defined by a sense of movement, perhaps underscored by the flowing river nearby. It features an interesting amalgamation of styles and materials: bold-colored windbreakers tucked into A-line miniskirts, leather trench coats layered over midi skirts and pleated silk dresses with flow-y silhouettes.

The label is also is clearly taking note of the ever-increasing worldwide popularity of Formula 1: Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2023 includes multiple references to motorcore aesthetics and F1 racer-inspired elements. For instance, the opening look — which was modeled by “Squid Game” star HoYeon Jung — featured a blue, orange and black color-blocked windbreaker reminiscent of the racetrack (Hwang Dong-Hyuk, the director of “Squid Game,” also served as a creative advisor for the show). The collection is accented with tough leather jackets decorated in racetrack patterns and black-and-white checkered midi dresses that nod to race flags.

A star-studded audience convened to take in the latest collection, and given the show’s setting, it aptly included plenty of K-pop stars: Felix from Stray Kids, Hyein of NewJeans, Yuta of NCT, Taeyeon of Girls Generation, Mingyu of Seventeen, Yeji from Itzy and Sunmi of Wonder Girls were all in attendance. J-Hope, Louis Vuitton’s brand ambassador, wasn’t present as he recently enlisted in the Korean military for mandatory service.

Ahead, see every look from Louis Vuitton’s Pre-Fall 2023 collection.

Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2023 in Seoul. Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton