A Sprouse-ing Spring .... Stephen Sprouse for Louis Vuitton 2009 Tribute Collection

My love-hate relationship with Louis Vuitton’s Stephen Sprouse graffiti collection may sound like this: colour wise, it’s too eccentric and too flashy for me or anyone who prefers settling down with subtle yet subliminal colours. But style wise, anything spruced up by the late Stephen Sprouse aren’t just coveted for style. It’s a piece of art, baby!

Recently, to the delight of young and audacious Louis Vuitton fans around the world, the highly-revered French fashion house has just resurrected the collection back to life after being archived for about nine years (last seen in 2001, prior to Sprouse’s death in 2004). Unlike the initial collection which was rather monochromatic, Louis Vuitton’s Creative Director Marc Jacobs gave the collection another lease of colourful life in splashes of Day-Glo colours, matching Sprouse’s design trademark.

"I tried to use the things in Stephen's vocabulary, and give the collection the shape, silhouette and styling that Stephen would have done when he was at the top of his game,” says Jacobs of the collection.

“It really is a complete homage, and a complete combination of what is Louis Vuitton, and what is this legendary icon, and then what are the icons and the lasting aesthetics that Stephen left in the fashion world, he further added"

Iconic bags such as the Alma, Pocehette, Speedy, and Neverfull were transformed into another range of otherworldly iconic pieces that worth displaying inside Tate Modern Arts Museum or The Met in New York.

And for the first time, Jacobs also created a collection in Sprouse’s honour using one of his renowned aesthetics - a rose. Legend has it that Sprouse always send images of rose to his friends as his way of saying Thank You.

That was after he started using coloured version of Xerox copier in the 70’s, where he would use the machine to enlarge photos many times until the images were distorted and gradually turn abstract. Apart from leather goods, high cut strappy boots and high-heeled shoes collection scrawled with Day-Glo graffiti of handwritten Louis Vuitton logo all over, Jacobs also added a few ready-to-wear capsule pieces to accompany the collection.

"I did my best, in a very first degree way, to do what I think Stephen would have done, or has done, in terms of fashion," says Marc Jacobs of the capsule ready-to-wear line he created in homage to Stephen Sprouse.

Harking to back to the days when Milli Vanilli and 21 Jump Street style ruled over the TV screens voraciously, or another close reminder – Kylie Minogue’s “In My Arms” video, the capsule collection, among others, consists of printed bikinis, scarves, plus a couple of tops and bottoms.

Made perfect for the incoming summer months, you definitely can’t go wrong in them while sunbathing at one of the private cabanas along Monte Carlo beach.

If dainty Speedy scrawled in lime-green or scrawled swimming trunk in electric pink are out of your reach, then there’s always small goodies for you to take home such as the edgy Sprouse enamelled yellow gold bracelet or the legendary monogrammed scarf with Sprouse rose print.

Stephen Sprouse for Louis Vuitton tribute collection 2009 is available now at Louis Vuitton stores worldwide.

*Photos courtesy of Louis Vuitton.

Louis Vuitton – UG6, Upper Ground Floor, Starhill Gallery, Jalan Bukit Bintang 55100 Kuala Lumpur; Lot G26A-C, Ground Floor, Suria KLCC, Jalan Ampang 50088 Kuala Lumpur.