Nicolas Ghesquière (; born 9 May 1971) is a French-Belgian fashion designer who has been the Artistic Director of Women’s Collections of the Maison of Louis Vuitton (owned by LVMH) since 2013.
Early life
Ghesquière was born in Comines, Nord, the younger of two sons of a Francophone Belgian golf-course owner and manager in the 7,500-inhabitant Poitevine town of Loudun and a French mother, who enjoyed fashion.Daisy Garnett (6 February 2003), From Paris with Love New York.Alice Gregory (18 October 2019) Nicolas Ghesquière T: The New York Times Style Magazine. He grew up in Loudun, Vienne. From a young age, Ghesquière enjoyed and practiced sports, such as horse riding, fencing, and swimming, and, in fact, many of his collections today use that inspiration, most notably his scuba mini dresses and his equestrian-inspired fall/winter 2006 ready-to-wear collection.
At a young age Ghesquière announced at that he wanted to be a designer. He now admits this was partly from an adolescent desire to do something different from his parents and to alleviate country boredom. By the age of 12, Nicolas was sketching dress designs in his school books, making dresses out of his mother's curtains, and designing earrings out of his grandmother's chandelier crystals.
With the help of his father, Ghesquière put together a portfolio of drawings and sent it, along with a letter introducing himself, to several designers.Ingrid Sischy (27 March 2014), The Thriller at Vuitton Vanity Fair. He diligently did internships during his school holidays. At 14, he assumed an internship with French designer agnès b, for which he was paid in clothes. His next apprenticeship was with Corinne Cobson. He decided afterward that fashion was difficult and returned home to finish his schooling.
Career After graduating from high school at age 18, Ghesquière turned down a place at art school to work as an assistant to designer Jean-Paul Gaultier from 1990 to 1992.Jo Ellison (19 September 2015), Nicolas Ghesquière Financial Times. He went on to work at Pôles, designing its knitwear line followed by a series of inauspicious assignments with different companies. He was considered the unofficial designer for the Italian house of Callaghan.
Balenciaga Through his contacts with Marie-Amélie Sauvé and Nathalie Marrec,Steff Yotka (6 October 2015), Meet the Collaborators and Muses Who Make Up Nicolas Ghesquière’s Louis Vuitton Squad Vogue. Ghesquière eventually landed a job doing the licensing for Paris fashion house Balenciaga and designing for the Asian market. At that time, Balenciaga had limited success since the 1970s and was owned by Groupe Jacques Bogart, whose management realized Ghesquière's talent when he designed a small collection for one of its Japanese licensees. (The label's founder, Cristóbal Balenciaga, died in 1972.) Ghesquière held, as he then described it, "what many would call the worst position in fashion," designing suits and funeral clothes under a Balenciaga licence for Japan.
In 1997, at the young age of 25, Ghesquière was the surprise choice to head Balenciaga, promoted to creative director of Balenciaga after his Dutch predecessor Josephus Thimister was fired following a highly unsuccessful show. In this capacity, he was put in charge of the brand's entire image, from clothing and accessories to store design and advertising.Nadya Masidlover and Christina Passariello (4 November 2013), Louis Vuitton Appoints Ghesquière as Creative Director Wall Street Journal. Following his appointment, he had less than four months to design the spring-summer 1998 collection from scratch.Alice Rawsthorn (1 March 2011), The Change Agent W.
While working as the label's creative director, Ghesquière continued to design two Italian collections — Trussardi, then Callaghan — until 2001. Callaghan's Spring 2001 Ready-to-Wear show was the first ever in New York for the then 35-year-old fashion house, and also served as the US debut for Ghesquière.Cathy Horyn (23 September 2000), Review/Fashion; What Will Women Want? Two Peeks New York Times.
In 2002, Ghesquière was embroiled in controversy when he was accused of plagiarizing from a deceased designer. Ghesquière was forced to admit that he had copied a patchwork vest from San Francisco designer Kaisik Wong — who died in 1990 — for the Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2002 collection. The design by Wong appeared in a 1974 reference book, Native Funk & Flash. Ghesquière said, "I'm very flattered that people are looking at my sources of inspiration. This is how I work. I've always said I'm looking at vintage clothes."
At Balenciaga, Ghesquière soon became known for his sense of contrast, such as pairing high-waisted skinny pants with a voluminous blouson or a tightly cut wool jumpsuit with billowing sleeves. His work soon turned Balenciaga into a critically acclaimed fashion house. His biggest commercial success was the Lariat bag,Christina Passariello (5 November 2014), Nicolas Ghesquière Innovates at the Legendary House of Louis Vuitton Wall Street Journal. with braided handles and dangling zipper pulls. An aspect of the designer's devotion to the house's legacy was his respect for Cristóbal Balenciaga's original design concepts. However, even though the Balenciaga archives are stored in Ghesquière's atelier, he was only able to gain entry to the locked room by special appointment with an off-site custodian. Throughout his time at Balenciaga, Ghesquière continuously collaborated with the same artists, particularly French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster – who worked with Ghesquière on the design of every Balenciaga boutiquePierre-Alexandre De Looz (17 October 2013), The story of NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE and how BALENCIAGA became 21st Century Fashion 032c. – and stylist Marie-Amélie Sauvé. He has additionally cited actress Charlotte Gainsbourg as an influence during his time at the company. At the same time, he launched the careers of several models, including Kirstin Liljegren.Tamsin Blanchard (4 October 2014), Ghesquière's girls: ‘Models are beautiful women and above all just women' The Daily Telegraph. Ghesquière's lariat bag is now considered a modern classic.
The Gucci Group (PPR) bought Balenciaga in 2001. Ghesquière, who wanted to stay and expand Balenciaga, could only be bought through the house. "It is a happy relationship," Ghesquière said. "It has worked because they wanted me to explain what I wanted to do with Balenciaga, not the other way around." Ghesquière's collections have had a considerable commercial impact, particularly through his influence on other designers, including his former staff members Julien Dossena, Camille Miceli, and Natacha Ramsay-Levi. During his 15-year tenure at Balenciaga, Ghesquière is widely credited with having helped turn the fashion label into one of the fastest-growing and most profitable brands of parent PPR.Astrid Wendlandt (4 November 2013), Louis Vuitton names Ghesquiere as creative director for womenswear Reuters. During that time, he assembled one of the largest production teams in Paris with upwards of 30 people in the design studio and 50 in the fabrication ateliers.
In November 2012, Nicolas Ghesquière left Balenciaga to general astonishment . A painful legal dispute for Nicolas Ghesquière ensued. On November 23, 2022, Nicolas Ghesquière gave the explanation during the scandal of the advertising campaign of children posing in a BDSM scene, "When I left @kering in 2012 I felt disconnected and hurt by [their] values and dishonesty".
Louis Vuitton On 4 November 2013, Ghesquière officially replaced Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton as creative director for the women's collections. Some of his first designs for Louis Vuitton debuted on the red carpet, as worn by the actress Jennifer Connelly.Nicolas Ghesquière Dresses Jennifer Connelly in Custom Vuitton Women's Wear Daily, 27 March 2014. On 5 March 2014, Ghesquière had his first show under the LV brand. LVMH renewed Ghesquière’s contract as artistic director of the women's collections in 2018Joelle Diderich (23 May 2018), Louis Vuitton and Nicolas Ghesquière Renew Contract Women's Wear Daily.Pascale Denis (23 May 2018), Louis Vuitton designer Ghesquiere signs new contract Reuters. and 2022.Christina Binkley (16 May 2022), Louis Vuitton CEO says Nicolas Ghesquière’s contract will be renewed Vogue Business.
Since joining Louis Vuiton, Ghesquière has regularly showcased his designs with shows in architectural landmarks including the Louvre in Paris – it was the first time the museum had allowed a fashion house to stage a show there –;Jo Ellison (8 March 2017), A night at the museum: Louis Vuitton goes to the Louvre Financial Times Monaco's Palace Square (2014);Jacob Bernstein (19 May 2014), Louis Vuitton Comes to Monaco, Celebrities in Tow New York Times. Hope Residence in Palm Springs (2015);Lisa Armstrong (7 May 2015), Vuitton lands in Palm Springs in Bob Hope’s ‘spaceship’ house The Daily Telegraph. the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro (2016); the Miho Museum near Kyoto (2017);Joelle Diderich (14 May 2017), Louis Vuitton Hosts Cruise 2018 Show in Kyoto, Japan Women's Wear Daily. Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence (2018);Joelle Diderich (16 March 2018), Louis Vuitton to Stage Cruise Show at Fondation Maeght Women's Wear Daily. and the TWA Flight Center (2019).
Ghesquière designed a series of character skins for the video game League of Legends in 2019.
On May 22, 2025, Nicolas Ghesquière presented Louis Vuitton's Cruise 2026 collection at the Palais des Papes in Avignon
Actress Emma Stone is a longtime friend of Nicolas Ghesquière, and Nicolas actually designed her wedding dresses.
Recognition In 1998, Madonna wore Balenciaga’s gothic-chic dress to the Golden Globes and was named avant-garde designer of the year at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. A year later, he was named Womenswear Designer of the Year by the CFDA. In 2006, he was among the TIME 100 Most Influential People.TIME 100: Nicolas Ghesquiere Kate Betts, 8 May 2006 Two years later, he was named Designer of the Year at the Accessories Council Excellence Awards. Ghesquière was described as "fashion's most sought-after and influential figure" by American Vogue and was also cited as the International Designer of the Year in 2014 by the British Fashion Awards.
Personal life In his twenties, Ghesquière was in a seven-year relationship with Pierre Hardy.Cathy Horyn (28 August 2005), How Nicolas Got His Groove Back T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Subsequently, he dated James Kaliardos, a makeup artist and cofounder of Visionaire, for eight years. More recently, he was in relationships with fellow designer Julien DossenaAlice Rawsthorn (24 March 2014), Julien Dossena W. and blogger Pelayo Díaz.Pilar Vidal (1 July 2015), Pelayo Díaz y Nicolas Ghesquière han roto El Mundo.
He has been in a relationship with his partner Drew Kuhse since early 2020. They live between Paris and Kuhse’s hometown, Los Angeles. Nathan Heller (8 August 2024), [https://www.vogue.com/article/inside-nicolas-ghesquieres-triumphant-first-decade-at-louis-vuitton Inside Nicolas Ghesquière’s Triumphant First Decade at Louis Vuitton (8 August 2024) Vogue.
In 2022, Ghesquière acquired John Lautner’s Wolff House in Los Angeles for $11 million from Amanda Hearst in an off-market deal.Jack Flemming (28 June 2022), Hearst heiress sells Lautner’s famous Wolff House to Louis Vuitton’s director for $11 million Los Angeles Times.
External links
BusinessWeek Profile International Herald Tribune Profile NY Magazine profile
References