Simply Abu Dhabi XX

1 5 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I LOUIS VUITTON WOMEN’S AW 2015 COLLECTION I t's been over a year now since Nicolas Ghesquière's Louis Vuitton debut. For his first few outings at Vuitton, Ghesquière looked back in time to the 1970s to create a contemporary women's wardrobe. But the tinge of retro that defined his earlier collections was gone this season, and the former Balenciaga designer is now embracing the future. "The exploration went a bit further," he said backstage. "There's still a certain respect of the patrimony, but also of technology, [which is] what I like." A drone flew over the venue, and 21 video screens were displayed on each of the metal scaffolds propping up the domes' see-through roofing, playing different angles of the show back to the crowd as it was happening. On the runway itself, the most futuristic pieces were the second- skin ribbed knits with their cut outs above the bust and their fluted cuffs and hems. Metallics reigned supreme: on a silvery silk pantsuit worn with a logo tee, on a glinting dress with the puffed, mutton sleeves that were one of the show's distinguishing features, and on the accessories. You couldn't miss model newcomer Fernanda Hin Lin Ly's transparent glass fibre vanity trunk. There were other mini trunks in aluminium, copper and ultralight carbon, and inside they were all equipped with storage space for iPads, chargers, and other modern-day necessities. Louis Vuitton himself was a French box-maker and packer who founded the luxury brand of the same name over 150 years ago. At the age of 13, tired of provincial life and of his strict stepmother,