The Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2026 Men’s Collection illuminates the influence of modern Indian sartorialism on the global contemporary wardrobe, and reflects it in the dandyism at the core of the Studio Homme. Framed by a scenographic dialogue with Studio Mumbai – the architectural visionaries fusing Indian tradition and modernity – the proposal is infused with the sensory environments of India. The impressions inspire Men’s Creative Director Pharrell Williams to reflect on the multi-faceted sensibilities of present-day Indian sartorialism: cloths, cuts, colours and craftsmanship conditioned by a connection to city, nature and the vitality of the sun. The mind-expanding instinct of Louis Vuitton – a house of travel – activates the notion of a worldwide community connected by an appreciation for the discernment, savoir-faire and exploration at the heart of Louis Vuitton.
Created by Studio Mumbai, the show set is envisioned as a life-size game of Snakes and Ladders. The Indian board game – which originated in the second century as a mandala – challenges its players to get from start to finish by climbing ladders and avoiding snakes. A metaphor for possibility, its teachings reflect the ideas of opportunity, responsibility and enhancement reflected in the philosophies of Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton. Staged with the Centre Pompidou as its backdrop – the Parisian hub of cultural enlightenment recently closed to undergo a five-year renovation – the show space was conceived by the architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai whose fusion of Indian tradition and modernity is founded in a deep concern with the relationship between man and nature. The set was constructed in wood with hand-paintings transforming the audience and cast into players in a giant game of Snakes and Ladders.
In the warmth of the sun, a new sensibility of the dandyism central to the Studio Homme takes shape. Garments and accessories evocatively cultivated by weather and wear assume a tactile and timeworn character expressed in an elegant ease. Silks, leathers and fine wools appear sun-faded in texture while cashmere mixed with silk, llama or vicuña is treated to resemble raw textures. The checks of the dandy wardrobe are conjured in innovative forms, from metal yarn to boucle and chenille, and printed on denim. Graceful checks manifest in lightweight outer- and sportswear. Stripes – the emblem of pyjamas and suiting alike – emblazon performance- and workwear and appear in graphic strokes as if hand-brushed on accessories.
Rendered entirely in colour and shades of white, the collection exchanges the nuances of the traditional men’s wardrobe with the palettes of Indian nature- and cityscapes. A dandy-esque purple indigo blended from navy and violet replaces black while a light beige becomes the new camel. The natural way in which different textiles respond to dyes shapes an organic palette. The notion of the bleaching rays of the sun informs scales of the same colours faded as if paled by the light, from flame-like burgundy and orange to dusty pastels and aged nuances of white. A brown denim wash inspired by the colour of coffee beans is proposed as a new alternative to the classic indigo blue denim wash, implemented in pieces woven rather than dyed to allow for the white thread to reveal itself with time. The denim is finished with aged-gold trims and VVN leather loops echoing the codes of trunk-making.
For the first time, the motif created by Louis Vuitton for The Darjeeling Limited is proposed as part of a collection. Originally conceived exclusively for the 2007 film and emblazoned on eleven pieces of luggage featured in the story – set in India – the pattern is composed of a tapestry of cross-continental flora and fauna including cheetahs, elephants, gazelles, giraffes, rhinoceros, zebras and palm trees on a semi-tan leather base. It appears in embroideries on striped shirts and shorts, denim sets, elegant check tailoring and knitwear, as fil-coupé in tailoring and shirting, and as hand-embroidery on a cashmere coat and an over-shirt. It further adorns accessories including semi-tan vegetable leather luggage tagged with traditional white travel numbers like that of the film as well as an L.V.M. logo – Louis Vuitton Malletier – in place of the characters’ initials.
Particularly prevalent to the metropolitan environments of India, an instinctive relationship with suiting inspires the collection’s reality-driven dandy silhouette. Soft, nonchalant tailoring is imbued with a lived-in elegance further expressed in the way garments are worn. Complemented by the mismatching of patterns and cloths, the light and spontaneous layering of jackets, waistcoats and shirts with trousers or shorts – some crafted in superlight materials – create an intuitive approach to sartorial sophistication. From heritage tailoring to mountaineering staples, outfit compositions suspended between suiting and sportswear conjure expressions informal in feel but exquisite in execution.
Ideas of glamping – glamourous camping – weave through the tapestry of the Studio Homme and serve as examples of the elevation of everyday wardrobe components. With India’s northern proximity to the Himalayans, mountaineering is inherent to the country’s connection with nature and sports. As a nod to its culture of climbing, garments and accessories from the hiking wardrobe infiltrate the silhouette. Shell jackets, refined fleece-like blousons and hiking boots are dandy-fied in the collection’s spirit, rendered in heritage patterns and adorned with opulent embellishments.
The collection is characterised by a theme of softness consistent in the work of Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton. Exemplified by signature Speedy P9 as well as the emblematic LV BUTTERSOFT Sneaker created in the smoothest and supplest leather – which re-emerge in the season’s LV x The Darjeeling Limited motif – the sensibility travels through expressions crafted in the most exquisite leathers and exotics, including the new Louis Vuitton Malletier bag line and highly refined blousons and flight jackets. In textiles, the nonchalant cuts of tailoring and workwear – and the superfine cloths from which they’re spun – contribute to the feeling, while trompe l’oeil pieces woven in the finest fabrics pose as coarse materials, inviting the wearer to zoom in and touch.
Embodied by a super-refined approach to the everyday wardrobe, casual garments native to the domains of outdoor- and sportswear are enriched through the savoir-faire of Louis Vuitton. The hoods of performance jackets are hand-encrusted all-over with stones, the collars of outerwear are adorned with hand-embroidered lace, and knits are three-dimensionally over-embroidered with microbeads. The edges and pockets of blazers, lampasses of trousers and details of polo shirts are adorned with delicate beading. Like a wearable piece of jewellery, a check shell suit is woven entirely in metal yarn.
The city signage of India informs stripe and letter graphics interpreted throughout the collection. Evoking the strokes of hand-painted signs observed in sun-drenched urban environments faded by light and weather, a chipped hand-painted letter logo – originally hand-painted by the Studio Homme on the roof of 2 rue du Pont Neuf – spells out Louis Vuitton Malletier Paris 75001 Since 1854. On garments, it features on the back of a reversible raincoat in print form and as a hand-embroidery on suits. Informed by the stripes of archival Louis Vuitton trunks, the same sensibility is applied to a wide hand-painted stripe motif languished as if eroded by travel and weather, which covers a series of Speedy P9 bags as well as crocodile belts. A seasonal Stamp Monogram conjures a similar feeling.
Bags are infused with the trace of time and historical details. LV x The Darjeeling Limited bags feature the motif created by Louis Vuitton for The Darjeeling Limited. It appears embossed and screen-printed on semi-tan vegetable leather across historical shapes, screen-printed on a heritage Damier canvas across icons, and embroidered on a denim Speedy P9 and a canvas Speedy 25. Louis Vuitton Malletier bags are crafted in aged silky-smooth, super-supple calfskin and include a new Needle bag and new dimensions of the Nil bag revived from the archive. Monogram Pigment bags in faded coloured canvases span icons, while Deep Dye bags in colour-dipped denims appear across outdoor bags and the new Cruiser Duffle. Packaging bags in solid colours or woven in the Damier check from deadstock leather include the new Takeaway messenger. Trunks appear in purple acrylic and a leather edition encrusted with stones and pearls inspired by the ornate antique trunks of Gaston-Louis Vuitton.
Exceptional bags are crafted with superior savoir-faire. Speedy P9 bags are amplified with painted stripes evoking those of archival trunks, with Monogram embroidery in vibrant blue, ochre and purple, and with Monogram gold-thread embroidery on leather. The Speedy P9 also appears in faded colours on ostrich, in green Sahara-finish crocodile, in scarf prints with three-dimensional Monogram elements, and in a tree-of-life carpet weave with animal embroideries. A Nil M bag debuts in silk-touch ostrich, a Steamer Workwear bag is crafted in deep blue supple crocodile, and a Mini Shopper in Sahara-finish crocodile is encrusted with semi-precious stones. A chess set cut from marble and hard stones carries metal chess pieces with cultured-pearl inlay. A leather bum bag and a wearable trunk are embellished with gems and pearls.
Imbued with the soul of patina, shoes appear aged by light and wear. The LV Jazz is a no-left-no-right super-thin silhouette proposed in lace-up and derby loafer versions across leather, suede and ostrich in pastel colours as well as golden, brown and black. LV Tilted, the suede skate shoe with a Damier-relief outsole, evolves in new colours and gem encrustations. The LV Flip is a voluminous flip-flop crafted in dark leathers, pastel suedes and tan, blue and white crocodile. It also appears with bag-inspired construction. The no-left-no-right LV Bubble appears as a derby with stone embellishment and in black leather or brown suede, and as a hiking boot in brown or beige leather with a black rubber toe. The LV Yeti ankle boot takes form in golden and brown suede. The LV x The Darjeeling Limited motif animates the LV BUTTERSOFT Sneaker, the LV Remix hiking boot and LV Jazz loafers and derby loafers.
Accessories are animated with the season motifs. Beanies appear in ripped trace-of-time Monogram, striped chenille and boucle as if hand-brushed. Three-quarter beanies are crafted in felted wool. Caps are sun-bleached or ripped open like paper tears. Cable socks are encrusted with crystal and hiking socks with Monogram lace. Silk squares are rendered in motifs including Snakes and Ladders, Damier chess boards and a Paris scenery echoed in a thread-embroidered jacket. A cashmere-and-silk bandana features hand-drawn stripes and the LV x The Darjeeling Limited motif. Striped neckties pay homage to those of cricket. Belts with reversible buckles are crafted in aged leathers and metals. The LV Frog Buckle evokes the ‘frog closures’ of the House’s trunks, resembling webbed feet, and ornate chain belt are set with semi-precious stones.
Bracelets are set with semi-precious stones including black onyx, howlite, amethyst or tiger’s eye. Bangles and ankle bracelets with pendants appear in aged-gold metal. The conical beads and micro beads of aged-gold metal necklaces and bracelets are echoed in the shape of rings. Sterling silver necklaces and bracelets with logo and Monogram flower elements are enhanced with guilloché treatment for an ornate effect.
Infused with the collection’s themes of time and travel, the collection introduces the LV Heritage line. The sunglasses are structured with metal corners evoking those of the House’s trunks and features frameless tops creating a light and streamlined sensibility. Pilot, rectangular and mask-shaped frames are lensed in a kaleidoscope of colours faded as if bleached by the sun. Pilot and rectangular silhouettes crafted in metal feature three-dimensionally sculpted temples.
