The House marks seven years of its artist-designed handbag project with a retrospective featuring 14 artists and a new collection dedicated to Keith Haring
Louis Vuitton is marking seven years of its Artycapucines project with a retrospective at Art Basel Paris 2026, bringing together interpretations of its signature Capucines handbag alongside original works by the artists who created them. Presented on the Balcon d’Honneur of the Grand Palais from October 23 to 25, the exhibition features contributions from 14 artists and introduces a new Artycapucines collection dedicated to Keith Haring, highlighting the House’s ongoing dialogue between contemporary art and leather goods craftsmanship.
First introduced in 2019, Artycapucines invites artists to reinterpret the Capucines through their individual creative practices, transforming the handbag’s recognizable silhouette into a canvas for experimentation. For the retrospective, Louis Vuitton presents the designs alongside paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works that reveal the artistic processes behind each interpretation. The exhibition’s scenography draws inspiration from archival storage and fine-art transportation, with brushed aluminum structures, open crates, and cotton canvas referencing both the movement of artworks and Louis Vuitton’s origins as a trunk-maker.
The presentation brings together a range of artistic approaches, from Alex Israel’s vibrant fin-shaped designs and Urs Fischer’s playful fruit motifs to Sam Falls’ botanical impressions and Tschabalala Self’s layered textile compositions. Works by Josh Smith and Henry Taylor explore the translation of painting and portraiture into leather goods, while Gregor Hildebrandt’s cassette-tape constructions introduce a graphic and material dimension. Each pairing emphasizes the relationship between an artist’s established visual language and its reinterpretation through the Capucines.
Material experimentation takes a central role in contributions by Kennedy Yanko, Liza Lou, and Billie Zangewa. Yanko’s sculptural approach to metal and paint finds a counterpart in her textured handbag design, while Lou’s intricate beadwork and Zangewa’s embroidered silk compositions demonstrate how labor-intensive artistic techniques can be translated into luxury accessories. The exhibition also revisits collaborations with Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusama, and Frank Gehry, whose distinctive approaches to color, form, and sculpture have contributed to Louis Vuitton’s broader artistic identity.
A new chapter of the project is introduced through the Artycapucines collection dedicated to Keith Haring. Drawing on the late American artist’s recognizable visual vocabulary, the designs incorporate dancing figures, running hearts, and interconnected symbols across the bags’ surfaces. The collection is displayed alongside a Louis Vuitton suitcase dating to the 1930s that Haring signed in the 1980s, establishing a historical connection between the artist and the House that predates the Artycapucines initiative.
The retrospective also situates Artycapucines within Louis Vuitton’s longer history of artistic collaboration, which dates to its work with Pierre Legrain in 1920 and continued through Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s commissions for advertising, catalogs, and travel-related objects. By bringing the finished handbags into conversation with the artworks that informed them, the exhibition offers a closer look at the exchange between artistic vision and specialized craftsmanship, positioning the Capucines as both a functional accessory and a platform for creative expression.
As luxury brands continue to strengthen their presence within the contemporary art world, Louis Vuitton’s presentation emphasizes the sustained nature of its relationships with artists rather than the novelty of a single collaboration. The exhibition frames Artycapucines as an evolving creative project, with each interpretation contributing to a larger conversation about the possibilities of fashion as an artistic medium.
The retrospective will be open to the public at the Grand Palais from October 23 to 25 as part of Art Basel Paris 2026. A selection of titles from Louis Vuitton Editions will also be available at the Art Basel Store for the first time.
