London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Louis Vuitton’s Stephen Sprouse Collaboration Turns 20-And Is Still One of the Best Logo Hacks Around

Louis Vuitton’s Stephen Sprouse Collaboration Turns 20-And Is Still One of the Best Logo Hacks Around

Logomania, collaborations, and “hacking”-Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, and Stephen Sprouse started it all.

I’ve been thinking a lot about logos, which is odd because logos are not particularly “in” or “cool” right now. The sly, ironic stamps of graphic approval that colored Balenciaga and Moschino runways circa 2015 have given way to smaller, more intimate statements of branding: A Gucci monogram septum ring, a Prada triangle earring, a stocking in Versace’s new interlock key print. Younger designers working to establish their own, more contemporary heritage brands don’t even have logos that I can easily conjure: Christopher John Rogers I associate more with the colors of a rainbow than the sans-serif text on his labels. Ditto for Eckhaus Latta, which stirs images of denim and lap-band tees-not branding-in my mind, and Conner Ives, a young American upstart already christened by the Met’s Costume Institute, has no logo to think of. The diminishing of the logo as a key brand device has a lot to do with wealth, class, and social strata-after the economic boom of the 2010s, those who will come out the pandemic richer may be more hesitant to flaunt it.



But to many European heritage brands, the logo is sacred. A shorthand icon, and I mean icon in an almost sacrosanct, religious sense; a logo stands in-and up-for the philosophy and ideology of the maison as a whole. It’s the key to the codes, passed down through generations of designer-directors. Before you know the Chanel quilting, the gold chain trim, or the camellia flower, you know the interlaced CCs. (Pharrell and Frank Ocean both have verses about it.) Such holy legends aren’t to be tampered with. Well, at least not in most instances.



Gucci’s recent “hacking” of Balenciaga, in which creative director Alessandro Michele co-opted Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia’s signatures, refuted some of these ideas. The pairing happened not only on the runway, where crystal suits dripped in Gucci and Balenciaga logos, but off it too. Michele and Gvasalia’s text message chain, posted to Gucci’s Instagram stories, was a stream of friendly banter, proving that stablemates can be besties, not competitors. Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault said of the partnership: “[Alessandro and Demna’s] innovative, inclusive, and iconoclastic visions are aligned with the expectations and desires of people today. Those visions are reflected not only in their creative offerings but also in their ability to raise questions about our time and its conventions.” Breaking fashion conventions seems to be good for business: On social media, fashion lovers heralded it for some of the season’s best pieces, a sign that new ideas can flourish in a bleak time.



But that’s, surely, the wrong way to think about it. All this ownership and hacking talk reminded me of one of contemporary fashion’s greatest hacks of all time-though back in 2001 we still called it a collaboration. The early ’00s was a time when sharing the keys, to say nothing of the codes, to the big fashion kingdoms being established by LVMH and then-PPR, now-Kering, was verboten. But then along came the gumptious Marc Jacobs. Four years into his tenure at Louis Vuitton, he did the unthinkable-he fucked with the logo. It was, Jacobs has said in the press, the one thing that was forbidden, so of course he wanted to change it.

Jacobs asked his friend, the equally gumptious Stephen Sprouse, to be the one to do it, setting the groundwork that, 16 years later, allowed for the market-breaking Supreme x LV collab. At the time of their release on the spring 2001 runway, 20 years ago, Jacobs called the bags “anti-snob snobbism” and reassured Vogue’s Sarah Mower in the pages of the January 2001 issue that despite their freehand origins, the bags were “done perfectly.” In Vogue’s March 2001 issue, the collab was celebrated again. “The combination of the staid, old-school Vuitton luggage and the unique energy of Sprouse’s most typical, purest work makes both Sprouse and the luggage look somehow fresh,” wrote Tama Janowitz. The partnership was covered yet again in May 2001, in an article examining copyrights and fakes. No other bag has received the three-times-in-one-season treatment since.

On September 10, 2001, Bryant Park’s New York Fashion Week tents were covered in Sprouse’s graffiti, and in 2009 LV had reissued all the best styles from the partnership in an effort the blog Nitrolicious called “so hot.”

Of course what Jacobs and LV and Michele and Gucci seem to know is that codes are best when they are broken. Owning ideas stifles creativity. Rather than one thing, why not be everything? That’s how a new generation of fashion designers want it. Jonathan Anderson gave away patterns to his Loewe collection and his uber-popular JWA sweater. Reese Cooper did something similar with his popular chore coat. Collina Strada’s Hilary Taymour encourages fans to paint on their own jeans and Telfar’s motto is “It’s not for you, it’s for everybody.” Hacking, sharing, collaborating-call it whatever you want. It’s the future, and it’s better together. As Michele told my colleague Nicole Phelps: “It’s a playground that we can share all together.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×