Louis Vuitton in Paris: the Chapman Brothers meet the Himalayas

http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/2013/jan/17/louis-vuitton-menswear-kim-jones

Version 0 of 1.

Snow leopards, the Himalayas, suitcase-backpacks, pounding techno and the Chapman Brothers: next season the Louis Vuitton man is a gentleman explorer heading out on a surreal yet super luxurious trip.

Kim Jones, style director of menswear for the world's best-selling luxury brand, is only on his fourth collection at the label and yet is totally in his stride. On Thursday , during Paris fashion week, he delivered another winning catwalk show, which saw the label's luggage and clothing featuring a specially commissioned print of cartoonish animals by artists Jake and Dinos Chapman.

Staged at the Grand Palais, a large black-and-white photo of the Himalayas hung at the end of the catwalk. As the lights went down, the sort of mist you might see at the top of a mountain drifted on to the long, glossy black catwalk before booming dance music kicked in. The first model strode out wearing a double-breasted coat of cashmere and mink – there was a lot of fur in this collection – and was needle-punched with the motif of a snow leopard.

Animal patterns are gathering momentum for autumn/winter 2013, with labels, including Burberry and Versace, also showing them on the catwalk.

In his short tenure, Jones has developed a recognisable silhouette at Vuitton. On Thursday, strong-shouldered outerwear, specifically elegant belted coats that have a typically nonchalant but manly glamour about them, were once again on the catwalk. Ditto tech nylon, Michelin Man-style puffer jackets – often worn slickly over suiting – complete with furry trims.

Knitwear is an area reportedly performing well for men at Vuitton, and in Thursday's show, a burgundy-and-grey cashmere knit featured crocodile stitching, proving to be a prime example of how Jones weaves expensive fabrics into garments without them looking obviously showy.

With travel being central to the Vuitton brand image, Jones drew inspiration from the Himalayas, particularly Bhutan. "I always start with the idea of someone going somewhere," explained Jones. "So I was looking at French explorers and how they went to look for a Shangri-La. We took all that city suiting and mixed it with the Bhutanese traditional fabrics," he said.

Suiting, from double-breasted jackets to three-button styles, featuring mismatched checks and stripes, were inspired by Bhutanese national dress and crafted from fabrics specially made in traditional English mills.

Marc Jacobs, the designer who Jones works under, was backstage straight after the show to offer congratulations, as were rapper Kanye West and Louise Wilson, professor of London's Central St Martins, where Jones trained.

David Attenborough, one of Jones's heroes, is also a constant source of inspiration said the designer. "I love him so much. He's the most travelled man in the world, so he's perfect to always get inspiration from."

From deluxe silk jacquard dressing gowns to carpet bags, the Chapman brothers' commissioned print added arty bite to the show.

Jones described the print as "all about those crazy, weird and wonderful animals that you have in the Himalayas, which have been twisted by the Chapman brothers so they look scary-cute."