March 29, 2022

Who is Takashi Murakami? What did he contribute to the Louis Vuitton brand? Where can you find his designs from Louis Vuitton?

Louis Vuitton's collaboration with Murakami began in the early 2000s with the release of the Monogram Multicolore collection. Read on to learn more about Murakami, his Monogram Multicolore collection and his various other collections with Louis Vuitton.

Pictured Louis Vuitton handbags from Takashi Murakami's Multicolore line collection.

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and even films. He has a distinct colorful style that often includes characters of his own making. Murakami gets inspiration from a lot of different art genres ranging from anime to traditional Japanese painting.

He first started gaining attention in the early 1990s. At the time, his most popular works were in a colorful cartoon style. These included paintings of bears, lions, and smiling flowers. 

The colorful and cheerful-looking paintings represent darker and more complex themes. They are often symbols of fantasy, technology, and even violence.

In 1996, he established an art production and artists management company for himself and his fellow artists called the Hiropon Factory. Today, it is known as Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd. 

He's also worked in art curation. His exhibition Superflat brought together a variety of works that captured art movements in Japan from different periods. It highlighted the differences and similarities between Japanese art throughout history.

Murakami's works have been on display in many exhibits around the world. He had an exhibition on West 24th street in New York City inspired by the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Fukushima. In 2017, his works were featured in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. 

He mass-produces many of his works as collectible items. You can find prints, toys, t-shirts, and even key chains that feature his work. All of them portray that same bright and colorful style that he's known for.

In 2002, Marc Jacobs was the creative director for Louis Vuitton. He developed a collaboration between the fashion brand and Takashi Murakami. This combined luxury fashion and Murakami's colorful and creative aesthetic, and in 2003, the Monogram Multicolore collection was released during their Spring/Summer fashion show.

The line features handbags, wallets, as well as other accessories. All of which was a massive hit with the public. It didn't take long for many celebrities to be seen showing off one of these bags.

The line featured the classic bright colors and cheerful aesthetic that Murakami is known for. It was a refreshing change from the single-colored monogram patterns that Louis Vuitton had produced in the past.

That was only the start of collaboration efforts between Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami. Murakami contributed to several other lines for nearly thirteen years. The artist parted ways with Louis Vuitton in 2015 with the title of handbag designer added to his long list of achievements.

Marc Jacobs also left the company at that time. It's still the longest collaboration with an artist Louis Vuitton has had so far. 

His departure followed the discontinuation of the Multicolore Monogram collection. At the same time, discontinuing the line meant that there wouldn't be any more handbags or wallets from that collection ever again. It caused a massive increase in the value of all of the existing bags since many still wanted one of their own.

Today, you have to look carefully to find some of these bags for sale. They're so desirable that those who have them often want to keep them.

What made the Multicolore Monogram line so popular was how unique it was compared to most of Louis Vuitton's previous work. Most of the fashion brand's accessories featured a standard monogram print that only featured a single color.

Murakami introduced a different, more vibrant pattern to the company. The Monogram Multicolore bags featured the monogram logo pattern as not just one color but thirty-three different colors all on the same bag. Furthermore, the logos were spaced out between small floral designs in just as many different colors.

It was a more cheerful and colorful version of the monogram pattern bags that Louis Vuitton had released for so long. Customers could choose from a variety of bag and accessory styles that featured the pattern as well as a white or black background. 

They even sold their small leather products featuring the Multicolore Monogram pattern. 

The many colors and small flowers made a world of difference for Louis Vuitton. It introduced a much more playful aesthetic to the world of luxury fashion. Not every accessory needs to have neutral tones and subtle designs.

Fashion enthusiasts loved the idea of more colors and a playful style. It was already popular when it first appeared on the runway in Paris in 2003. Then celebrities also started wearing items from the line in public, and more people wanted to join in on the fun.

Discontinuing the line didn't reduce its popularity. Today, people search the internet hoping to find one of these beautiful bags for sale at consignment or resale stores. With these collections being discontinued it has become more important that owners know how to properly clean and repair Louis Vuitton bags to preserve them for years to come.

After the Multicolore Monogram line proved to be a success, Murakami continued working with Louis Vuitton. The result was several more collections that were just as successful.

In 2003, he helped produce the Cherry Blossom collection. Once again, this line features a very playful pattern. The background is either black or white with a faded version of the pattern from the Multicolore Monogram design.

On top of this is the main pattern of the line: Pink cherry blossom petals and cute smiling cherry blossoms. 

In 2004, Louis Vuitton released the Panda collaboration line. In this line, a colorful cartoon panda with his tongue sticking out sits on top of the monogram pattern.

The Cerises line was released in 2005. Murakami once again stuck to his themes by creating a pattern of cute cartoony cherries with faces smiling and looking surprised.

Louis Vuitton also used Murakami's talents in 2007 for an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. The result was the MOCA Hands line. These bags featured a huge multicolor Louis Vuitton logo colored in a drip-art style with hands on the ends of the logo.

The Monogramouflage line in 2008 featured a single-color version of Murakami's flowers and logos monogram pattern. This time, however, the pattern sits on top of a green camouflage background. The Monogramouflage line is particularly popular in Louis Vuitton travel bag styles.

And in 2010, Louis Vuitton released Cosmic Blossom. This line featured a beautiful two-toned pattern of smiling flowers inspired by Murakami's past pattern works for the fashion brand. These accessories came in pink, purple, and blue with the company's name and Paris headquarters address in big letters.

Whichever is your favorite, Louis Vuitton bags are some of the most coveted bags ever made. Knowing how to tell if a Louis Vuitton bag is real is crucial given how make fakes are out there.

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So if you're looking for a luxury handbag at a reasonable price or are looking to sell your pre-owned bag, then check out our stock of pre-owned Louis Vuitton items or submit your own Louis Vuitton to us for a quote using this simple form and get a cash offer.