Thanks to the phenomenal success of Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty retrospective last year, fashion houses are lining up to host exhibitions that tell their stories. And while we have to wait until May for the Met's next instalment (dedicated to Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli no less), Louis Vuitton has taken the spotlight with Louis Vuitton-Marc Jacobs at Les Arts Decoratifs which opened in Paris last Friday.
The exhibition pays tribute to the talents of Jacobs and his journey at Louis Vuitton since he was appointed creative director in 1997, but it also tells another story - that of the house's founder, Vuitton, a trunk maker and packer who started his career in 1854.
While 150 years separates the men, they share a similar spirit, says curator Pamela Goblin.
'I didn't want to do a history of the house of Vuitton; it was not exciting at all. What excites me is to look at the people behind the brand,' she says.
Goblin says it's important to understand both men within the context of the periods in which they worked. 'Louis' time period was instrumental in the history of fashion because it was the moment when the luxury industry was really born. At the time he was working, a whole new fashion system was put into place, and Louis was very much part of this. When it comes to Marc, it's about the globalisation of fashion. It's not just about objects being proposed to the consumer, but how they are shown in a language that is more universal.'
She adds that although the two weren't exactly visionary, they are men of their time, with an intuitive and pragmatic point of view. 'They both strive for perfection and adapt to the needs to their clients.'