Cate Blanchett on a throne? It’s Louis Vuitton at the Pope’s Palace

When Louis Vuitton was deciding on a location for this month’s Cruise show, it had no idea quite how of the moment its choice would end up feeling. The vast medieval Palace of the Popes in Avignon was the site of six conclaves in the 14th century.

It was, conceded Vuitton’s creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, backstage on Thursday night, “quite the coincidence” that he should stage a show here in the same month that Pope Leo XIV was elected. “There is,” he continued, “something very strong about believing.”

Certainly the so-called VICs, or very important clients, were displaying a dedication to Brand Vuitton that was nigh-on religious in its fervour. One woman even had its logo painted on her face.

Cate Blanchett, Catherine Deneuve and Alicia Vikander sat in one of many rows of throne-like seats at the palace

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The palace courtyard was garbed in papal red, and the front row — which included Cate Blanchett, Saoirse Ronan and Emma Stone — were seated at its centre on thrones. They looked out onto a catwalk suspended among empty seats, as if the audience were, in fact, the performance. “I wanted to evoke the Avignon Festival of contemporary theatre that has taken place here since 1947,” Ghesquière said. “That idea of performance, of the power of the stage.”

Sophie Turner

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Saoirse Ronan

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Emma Stone

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The French-born designer, who has been at the helm of Louis Vuitton for 22 years, unveiled a collection that was theatrical even by his standards. It was also joyful and, at times, just a tiny bit crazy; a mash-up of medieval pageantry — heraldic capes, chainmail-like adornment, fur-trimmed jacquards and even gauntlets — with a 1960s rock chic feel.

Sure enough, Ghesquière declared his reference points to be, on the one hand, “the story of Excalibur; I love the fact that it was a woman, the Lady of the Lake, who had ultimate power”, and, on the other, Janis Joplin. “Musicians are so influential in the way we dress today,” he said.

SYLVAIN LEFEVRE/GETTY IMAGES

SYLVAIN LEFEVRE/GETTY IMAGES

DOMINIQUE CHARRIAU/WIREIMAGE

GIOVANNI GIANNONI/WWD/GETTY IMAGES

SYLVAIN LEFEVRE/GETTY IMAGES

GIOVANNI GIANNONI/WWD/GETTY IMAGES

It takes someone of Ghesquière’s talent to turn such disparate source material into a coherent collection. But his vision has long been varifocal, one that unites historical references with an unapologetic contemporaneity — what he called “that forward-backward thing”. It combines full-throttle creativity with the capacity to sell lots and lots of handbags. “We need fairytales more than ever,” he said, and in him Louis Vuitton has found the ultimate necromancer.