At Louis Vuitton, an escape from fashion’s ‘endcore’

Endcore, as described by Shumon Basar, is a collective sentiment, where we seem perpetually on the road toward “the end” without ever arriving. Is the climate growing more extreme each year? Does technology erode our humanity? Are wars endless? The foundations we once thought immovable now shake. We live in an “after” era — not one that follows another, but one that comes after everything. Like an asteroid hurtling toward us, it never lands. We can only wait. It is unsettling, dizzying: uncertainty has become the norm. This season, fashion week reflects that tension. As old masters pass on and the golden era recedes, the turnover of creative directors accelerates: in Paris alone, six new debuts. The rotation of power is more than aesthetic change — it is a system straining to reboot. Designers arrive and depart, audiences yearn for novelty, yet narratives fracture while the future remains unclear. Beneath it all lies Endcore: fashion ending and beginning again, endlessly, honoring past glory while chasing the next symbol. Perhaps this explains my anticipation before Louis Vuitton’s Spring Summer 2026 show. Amid the noise of new beginnings, its stability offered relief. As the world grows turbulent, Nicholas Ghesquière has become more composed, returning again and again to the Louvre since 2017. It has become his stage, a setting where history is reframed toward the future. The show unfolded in the summer apartment of Queen Anne of Austria, mother of the Sun King and often regarded as a founder of French fashion. Across seven rooms of red marble, set designer Marie-Anne Derville merged furniture and art from disparate eras into a domestic space that felt contemporary yet steeped in history. Before models appeared, Cate Blanchett’s voice pierced the air: “Home is where I want to be. Pick me up and turn me around, I feel numb, born with a weak heart.” Emotional and haunting, it reminded us: fashion is never just clothes, but space, history, power, identity. A Louis Vuitton show is always theater. This collection felt both antique and new. Seventeenth-century gowns, embroidery, collars, and ruffled skirts were softened by modern interpretation. Puffed sleeves layered like seashells; corset-style piping shaped bodices; satin silhouettes balanced grandeur with ease. Knitwear expanded with exaggerated bell sleeves and fringe-trimmed separates in painterly hues. All styled with flat shoes and playful organza socks. This marked Ghesquière’s 45th collection for Louis Vuitton, still in dialogue with his 2014 debut — a season when he, Raf Simons, and Hedi Slimane all assumed leadership of powerful houses. Few would have predicted Ghesquière alone would endure. He has become the model of longevity in an era where the role of creative director itself feels precarious. When Ghesquière entered the industry in the 1990s, designers thrived on rebellion. To be mocked or dismissed as eccentric was often a badge of honor. Today, fashion is a commercial machine bound to celebrity culture. Every show and every piece is instantly consumed and amplified online, with the surrounding noise often drowning out the design itself. In this environment, succeeding as a brand’s creative director has become a universal challenge. Since 2014, Ghesquière has built a tacit understanding with this commercial empire. His debut was not merely the launch of a collection, but the foundation of an entire design language. Beneath each dramatic silhouette lies his rigorous, iterative approach. Shapes evolve across seasons, creative ideas resurface, and codes accumulate. Fabrics and techniques dazzle, yet the core always stems from reinterpretation of what came before. The LV Monogram revival shows this clearly. Once cautiously reintroduced, it was elevated into chic fashion and extended across handbags. Classics were not just revived but transformed. His codes knit across accessories, shoes, leather goods, even fragrance, ensuring Louis Vuitton retains a consistent, unmistakable style while others chase fleeting trends. This is why Ghesquière is often regarded as the creative director who understands accessories better than anyone. His design code integrates seamlessly with Louis Vuitton’s history and craftsmanship, extending across categories. At a time when many brands rely on viral products, Louis Vuitton maintains coherence. Fashion is never just clothing; it is the sum of space, history, power, and identity. In a house of Louis Vuitton’s stature — with its celebrities, artistic collaborations, and crossovers — fashion expands across multiple dimensions. Ghesquière cannot ignore tools beyond clothing, but his communication remains rooted in the codes he has built. There are no gimmicks, no noisy stunts to dominate headlines. He pushes boundaries while respecting tradition, claiming his authority in the studio and the atelier, not on social media. This is what makes him unique: a recognized authority in the industry, yet far from the celebrity spotlight. His collections display avant-garde vision and a strong personal signature that insiders grasp and the broader market adopts. He embeds Louis Vuitton’s elements deeply into the public consciousness, ensuring lasting influence. Endcore also brings “change vertigo” — the disorientation when the pace of change outstrips comprehension. We all inhabit this dizzying flux within the industry, and some throw themselves fully into the extreme present, surrendering to the relentless, accelerating pace. Ghesquière channels that vertigo deliberately. He collages eras, recombines fabrics, unsettles expectations. Yet the dizziness is never chaotic; over time, a direction emerges. In turbulent times, he restores fashion’s original values: conviction, intuition, persistence.

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At Louis Vuitton, an escape from fashion’s ‘endcore’