Cats, Cashmere, Carry-Ons—Grace Coddington’s Whimsical Louis Vuitton Travel Capsule Lands in SoHo

With New York Fashion Week wrapped, and London, Milan, and Paris on the horizon, travel is in the air—but not all trips require a grand voyage. Some of the most imaginative journeys are right at our doorstep—Louis Vuitton’s SoHo doorstep, to be exact.

Above the cobblestone streets of SoHo, guests slipped through the maison’s storefront and into a world of whimsy—and cats. Hand-drawn prints featured a cat on the moon, a camel-back cat in Morocco, a flamenco cat in Spain. Naturally, the cats of the hour belonged to none other than Grace Coddington—the woman of the hour.

“Both Nicolas [Ghesquière] and I love animals, and the first collection [we did together] very much started off with cats and dogs. I drew his dogs and my cats. But this collection is less about cats and dogs. This time they’re just little trinkets that you hang from your bags,” Coddington tells Vogue. “I just thought that I can’t go on doing the same thing—I have to go further and do something a little bit different, otherwise I’d lose my job.”

With such success, the duo was due for a second collaboration. The result? A capsule of travel-ready ready-to-wear and classic leather goods. Comprised of cozy cashmere and luscious silk, the clothing is comfortable, practical, and lightweight—qualities the former creative director of Vogue deems essential for travel attire. And, of course, the wheelie suitcases and leather duffels (among other accessories) carry cheeky cat motifs.

“This collection involves all the things that I think are important to be part of a travel-specific collection. What I thought was very important was to make everything very easily packable and very lightweight. That was the key thing,” Coddington says. “I love wheelie suitcases. Everybody has them. People don’t carry big suitcases anymore; everybody takes hand baggage. I haven’t taken a regular suitcase in years, because it’s a toss-up whether it comes out the other end if you fly. Hand baggage is a guarantee. And since you’re confined to a small suitcase, you’re confined to clothes that are very packable [and versatile]. You can put on your diamonds or your sneakers.”

Between passed bites of bite-sized lobster rolls, teensy twice-baked fingerling potatoes topped with caviar, and miniature New York cheesecakes, invitees—the likes of photographer Bruce Weber, makeup artist Pat McGrath, and model Karen Elson—meandered through the boutique, engaging with the collection and with each other.

And a moment for the real stars, aside from Coddington, of course. “Blanket is the oldest. And then I have Jimi and Blondie. When I did the first collaboration, I had Bart and Pumpkin and Puff. It’s a revolving cast of cats, so to speak.” A talented cast, indeed.