August 11, 2013 - Leather Zoo

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Louis Vuitton SLG Savoir Faire collection, Billie Achilleos was commissioned to create beautiful “creatures” out of various “petite maroquinerie,” the French word for small leather goods.


Wallets, coin purses, belts and hardware from bags were layered and assembled to resemble various animals.

The animals are definitely high fashion bearing the Louis Vuitton signature patterned leather. The fusion of fashion and arts are highlighted in each piece.


The first 4 Louis Vuitton animals were born: the Armadillo, the Beaver, the Chameleon, the Grasshopper. All entirely made out of small leather (and more) goods from Louis Vuitton.

Don’t, however, take this lightly and assume the four animals were made by chance just because this is all the artist could came up with from a pile of Louis Vuitton accessories.

There’s a reason for each and every one of them:



The Armadillo is there to highlight the materials’ strength.



The Beaver stands for functionality.




The Chameleon – what else? – for color.



The Grasshopper for the sounds of zips and press studs, biensur!



Billie Achilleos, is a London-based self-described “versatile artist and maker of things,” and is truly crafty, inspired and inspiring with clever installations. She has, a BA in Technical Arts and Special Effects from Wimbledon College of Art (2007).



“I had the delight of accompanying my animals to [an] exhibit. It is by far the most lovely time I’d had with the Louis Vuitton team . . .”

Billie’s blog
http://blog.billieachilleos.co.uk/

Sources include:

Rockefeller: News of the World Magazine
Photo credit: Louis Vuitton

Women's Wear Daily

Style Frizz

Fashion Law

Equilibriarte

The Sevenology

Vogue

I wonder if the materials for these projects were seconds doomed to the discard pile, or even confiscated fakes that could not be sold. That looks like a LOT of money there, many wallets, belts, purses, doodads and thingamabobs. Those "small articles" are expensive.

I have no interest in high fashion (although a small smattering of knowledge.)
And even less interest in designer names or conspicuous consumerism.

But.

Blimey, gorgeous. This is art.
I'd like to own most of those, although I'm pretty sure if'n I had the money I still wouldn't buy any of them.
Well. The cat maybe. And the mouse to keep it company. And definitely the 'dillo...
But I'd probably pay for my cock elsewhere.

What?

... I don't know. What do you think affects the profit margin? The sale price minus the cost of production, right? Certainly there's less material cost in some of the smaller items, but smaller items can sometimes justify more exotic and expensive materials. Also, the manufacturing cost, the labor for some small item can still be substantial, even though they're making lots of small cuts and seams instead of long lines like on ... pants and coats?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigV ... I don't know. What do you think affects the profit margin?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigV I Those "small articles" are expensive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae I have no interest in high fashion (although a small smattering of knowledge.) And even less interest in designer names or conspicuous consumerism. But. Blimey, gorgeous. This is art. I'd like to own most of those, although I'm pretty sure if'n I had the money I still wouldn't buy any of them. Well. The cat maybe. And the mouse to keep it company. And definitely the 'dillo... But I'd probably pay for my cock elsewhere. What?

The best place to find purses/wallets/bags for cheap is Purses and More