Style Edit: Louis Vuitton’s epic Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds collection explores its 19th century roots

One of Louis Vuitton’s most ambitious high jewellery undertakings yet is the house’s 220-piece Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds collection. Artistic director for watches and jewellery Francesca Amfitheatrof’s sixth high jewellery collection for Louis Vuitton pays homage to the house’s French roots, and the savoir faire pioneered and preserved by the great craftsmen and leading innovators of the 19th century.

“France in the 19th century was a phenomenal time of incredible change, and when Paris really became the centre of the world,” says Amfitheatrof. “The design language of Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds reflects that – all its intricacies, complications and innovations – expressed through incredible jewels.”

The first chapter – Awakened Hands – features 100 one-of-a-kind pieces that begin the journey with the end of royal court rule, when French artisans gained more freedom in their work, leading to an explosion of creativity. This renaissance of savoir faire coincided with the 16-year-old Louis Vuitton arriving in Paris in 1837 to pursue his craft.

Among the 11 themes in this chapter, Elegance is represented by diamond-only designs that nod to the jewellery-making art of tremblant – a style in which elements are attached to coils that allow diamonds and other precious stones and metals to spring to life with the movement of the wearer. The pieces include a tiara – a first for the house – its pattern adorned with tremblant-set LV Monogram Star-cut diamonds.

Segueing into the 1850s, the second chapter of the collection – Awakened Minds – shifts tempo as the pursuit of ideas picks up pace. This stirring of minds in Paris led to all manner of creative output, including in 1854, when Louis Vuitton became the first artisan-designer to register an original logo, an important step in the future of innovation.