How much does “Poor Things” actress Emma Stone have in common with Louis Vuitton‘s Nicolas Ghesquière?
Plenty. In a video interview debuting on YouTube later Tuesday and marking Ghesquière’s first decade at the helm of the French brand’s women’s collections, Stone asks the designer whether he is ever completely satisfied with his fashion creations.
The American actress reads his expression and answers the question herself, confessing that she always reflects on her work and tells herself, “I would do it differently and I would do better.”
“Oh, of course. I always want to do it better,” Ghesquière shoots back. “I’m light, but I’m very intense, too.”
“You take your work seriously, but not yourself,” Stone concurs, hugging her knee nervously and telling journalist Lynn Hirschberg off-camera, apologetically: “You can ask a question now if you’d like to. Sorry, we’re just chatting.”
A Vuitton ambassador since 2017, Stone clearly has mind-melded with Ghesquière over their years of collaboration, able to ask probing questions to kick off the YouTube series “Nicolas Ghesquière: Shaping Fashion.”
Via videos to be released monthly, the series delves into the designer’s storied tenure as artistic director of Vuitton’s women’s collections, his earlier career and topics ranging from fashion to music and film.
“It was very enjoyable to take the time to look back, reflect and smile on how these past 10 years have flown by…and it is a journey that has been shaped by the wonderful friends in each episode,” Ghesquière commented. “With the pace of things today, it feels special to sit down and reminisce a little.”
Jennifer Connelly is to lead the second fireside chat, with other French and international friends of Vuitton spearheading subsequent episodes. Hirschberg and French journalist Sylvia Jorif were conscripted to direct the discussions.
Ghesquière and Connelly go way back to his Balenciaga days, which underscores how the designer forges strong, authentic bonds with brand ambassadors, who also function as muses.
“I’ve always had a fascination for actresses,” Ghesquière told WWD in an interview last November when he renewed his contract at Vuitton for another five years. It was a sign of continuity at the world’s biggest luxury brand — and recognition of his significant contribution to its impressive growth trajectory.
Over the years, the designer has assembled an eclectic cast of Vuitton ambassadors, who reflect his pluralistic approach to womenswear and his belief in continuity and loyalty.
While he enjoys dressing actresses for important red-carpet events, he relishes even more the chance to discuss their projects.
During the November interview, he mentioned a recent meeting with Stone where she filled the designer in on Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things.”
“She explained to me the character and the style, and that inspired me a lot for the last cruise collection, for example,” Ghesquière said. “It’s really extraordinary. And that aesthetic has had a lot of influence.…For me, it’s another great example of the limitless possibilities of having a very special relationship with talents in general.”
Vuitton plans to demarcate and celebrate Ghesquière’s 10-year anniversary at the brand at its large-scale runway show that will close out Paris Fashion Week on March 5.
