It was in 2003 that Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami first collided. It was a meeting of French craftsmanship and Japanese pop surrealism that would alter the course of fashion history. Their debut collaboration transformed the Maison’s classic Monogram into a riot of 33 colors, introducing manga-inspired motifs, smiling cherries, and playful pandas to the world of luxury. What began as an audacious experiment became one of the most recognizable partnerships of the 21st century, forever changing how art and fashion converse.
At Art Basel Paris 2025, Louis Vuitton’s latest presentation feels less like a fashion showcase and more like a cultural event. The French maison and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami have reunited for Artycapucines VII, a new chapter in their long-standing dialogue that began over two decades ago.
The Artycapucines project itself is now an institution within Vuitton’s creative landscape. Since its debut in 2019, over 30 artists have interpreted the Capucines, each transforming the bag into a conversation between form and meaning. For Murakami, this latest collection feels like the natural culmination of that ethos, the merging of fantasy and finesse, the handmade and the hyperreal.
A vast octopus sprawls across Louis Vuitton’s exhibition space at Art Basel Paris, its iridescent tentacles curling over floors dressed in matching motifs. Inside this creature’s luminous head glows Murakami’s Jellyfish Eyes, a pattern born from childhood fears, now transformed into something almost tender. Around it, eleven new interpretations of Louis Vuitton’s ‘Capucines’ bag appear like rare species.
The ‘Capucines’ has long served as a blank canvas for artists, but in Murakami’s hands, it becomes a portal. Every piece in Artycapucines VII is both sculpture and accessory, merging Louis Vuitton’s savoir-faire with the artist’s kaleidoscopic imagination.
CAPUCINES MINI TENTACLE
One of the collection’s most striking pieces, the ‘Capucines Mini Tentacle’ transforms Murakami’s recurring octopus motif into a sculptural statement. Crafted from smooth calfskin and wrapped in seven resin tentacles, each one hand-painted and polished, the bag itself feels like an extension of Murakami’s fantastical world.
CAPUBLOOM
The ‘Capubloom’ abandons conventional form entirely. Shaped into a perfect sphere, it is covered in over a hundred candy-coloured resin flowers, each one meticulously moulded and applied by hand. The smiling blossoms seem to pulse with life, turning the bag into a portable sculpture that embodies Murakami’s joyful chaos and Louis Vuitton’s mastery of engineering.
CAPUCINES EW DRAGON
Inspired by Murakami’s monumental painting Dragon in Clouds Indigo Blue, the ‘Capucines EW Dragon’ reads like a miniature canvas. The dragon’s swirling form is recreated in porcelain-like leather through high-definition printing and hand-applied enamel. Its silver-toned handle evokes dragon scales.
CAPUCINES MINI MUSHROOM
A surrealist dream rendered in leather, the ‘Capucines Mini Mushroom’ celebrates Murakami’s psychedelic fascination with the natural world. Over a hundred 3D-printed mushroom characters, each hand-polished and embroidered, cover its mirrored surface. The piece is playful yet exacting, turning the ‘Capucines’ into a forest of imagination contained within couture-level craftsmanship.
PANDA CLUTCH
Gleaming with thousands of strass crystals, the ‘Panda Clutch’ brings one of Murakami’s earliest and most beloved characters to life in sculptural brass. Its silver contours capture the gentle humour of the panda, while its removable metal chain adds a note of refinement. The bag feels both whimsical and monumental, a work of pop art in miniature.
CAPUSPLIT BB
The ‘Capusplit BB’ surprises with duality. Its light-blue crocodile exterior opens to reveal a flash of Murakami’s 33-colour Monogram printed on white lambskin. It is a visual wink to their first collaboration in 2003, merging nostalgia with sophistication and revealing how colour and craftsmanship can still feel mischievously new.
CAPUCINES MINI AUTOGRAPH
The ‘Capucines Mini Autograph’ turns Murakami’s signature into its central design element. His autograph and the iconic smiling flower are delicately hand-painted onto black crocodile leather. The LV signature doubles as a lenticular smile that shifts with movement, creating a playful illusion that captures the artist’s humour and Vuitton’s technical finesse.
CAPUCINES BB GOLDEN GARDEN
The ‘Capucines BB Golden Garden’ translates Murakami’s homage to the Japanese painter Ogata Kōrin into leather marquetry and gold leaf. Each petal and chrysanthemum motif is crafted from multiple textures of leather, creating a luminous relief effect. The gold-toned handle and filigree flowers add a quiet majesty that recalls both art history and haute craft.
CAPUCINES EW RAINBOW
Perhaps the most immediately joyful of the collection, the ‘Capucines EW Rainbow’ takes Murakami’s famous smiling flower and transforms it into form. The entire bag becomes a rainbow bloom covered in mink fur, with a smiling face on one side and a sleeping face on the other. The contrast between its playful spirit and Vuitton’s meticulous execution is irresistible.
CAPUCINES XXL CAMO
A study in scale and attitude, the ‘Capucines XXL Camo’ expands the proportions of the classic bag into a bold, unisex statement. Its khaki denim surface features a skull-in-camouflage pattern woven through intricate jacquard. Finished with sculpted skull rings in aged gold metal, it bridges street culture and fine craftsmanship with quiet confidence.
CAPUCINES MM EYE
Playful and surreal, the ‘Capucines MM Eye’ reimagines Murakami’s alter ego Mr. DOB in abstract form. A single oversized eye, a mouth, and a tentacle handle animate its pink leather surface. Hidden inside, a mirror shaped like a closed eye completes the narrative. The result is part bag, part character, and entirely Murakami.
In a fashion world often consumed by trends, Artycapucines VII feels almost timeless. It does not seek to outpace the moment but to define it. Murakami’s fantastical creatures find new life through Vuitton’s meticulous craftsmanship, while the House reasserts its role as a patron of contemporary creation rather than a mere purveyor of luxury goods.
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