Louis Vuitton × Stephen Sprouse khaki Graffiti Speedy 30

Louis Vuitton × Stephen Sprouse: Graffiti and Roses, 2001 to 2009

In 2001 the artist and designer Stephen Sprouse took a marker to the most protected pattern in luxury. Stephen Sprouse and Marc Jacobs, then creative director of Louis Vuitton, wrote the house's monogram over in fluorescent graffiti, and the result is still the collaboration against which others are measured. This guide follows it from the first season to the posthumous Roses of 2009, names the models and colours that exist, and explains what to check before buying a piece.

A graffiti monogram, 2001

The first Louis Vuitton × Stephen Sprouse collection appeared in spring/summer 2001. Sprouse and Jacobs reworked the monogram canvas with a graffiti-style hand across the face of the pattern, so that the familiar LV and flower motifs are visible beneath the lettering. Wallpaper has argued that the print kicked off the It bag craze. The shapes were the house's own: the Speedy, the Keepall, the Alma, the Pochette Accessoires and small leather goods, each in a handful of colours.

  • Keepall 50. The travel bag was the showpiece. Our records carry M92196 in vert and M92197 in white from the original 2001 run.
  • Speedy 30. M92194 in khaki, with the graffiti over the monogram canvas.
  • Alma Horizontal. M92176 in peach on white leather.
  • Pochette Accessoires. M92193 in peach graffiti on monogram, the smallest way into the collection.

Sprouse after 2004

Stephen Sprouse died in 2004. Jacobs returned to his work posthumously, and the Roses collection of 2009 is built on a rose that Sprouse first sketched while he and Jacobs were working on the original 2001 collaboration. The 2009 capsule reached beyond bags to small leather goods and streetwear, including t-shirt dresses, jeans, sneakers and a skateboard. It coincided with a retrospective of Sprouse's art, Rock on Mars, at the Deitch Gallery in Soho, and with a monograph, The Stephen Sprouse Book, published by Rizzoli.

Roses and the reissued graffiti

The 2009 tribute collection did two things at once: it brought the graffiti monogram back in new, harder colours, and it introduced the rose, printed over the monogram canvas. Some records date the Roses pieces to 2008, which is why records vary between 2008 and 2009; the tribute collection itself is the same.

  • Graffiti reissue. Keepall 50 M93699 in fluorescent orange and M93700 in vert, the Neverfull GM M93701, and Zippy wallets M93711 and M93712.
  • Roses. Keepall 50 M48605, Speedy 30 M48610 and Neverfull MM M48613 on monogram canvas.

Which to choose

The 2001 pieces are the originals and carry the collecting weight; the colours are quieter, and the graffiti sits on the standard monogram canvas. The 2009 graffiti reissue is louder, with fluorescent orange and vert at the front. The Roses are the softest face of the collaboration and the one most often worn. If you want a single piece for the wall of a collection, a 2001 Keepall is the reference; if you want a bag you will carry, a Speedy 30 or Neverfull is easier to use.

Condition checks

  • The lettering. Look at the graffiti for cracking, fading or rubbing at the corners and the base.
  • Handles and trim. Natural leather handles darken with use; compare the tone to the canvas and check the stitching at the anchors.
  • Hardware. Check the zip, the lock and the studs for tarnish, and the zip pull for the correct engraving.
  • Date code. Confirm the code and the model number against the guide to date codes, serials and microchips; because these pieces fetch a premium, authenticity is worth proving before you pay.
  • Boxes and dust bags. A piece with its box is a different object; see Japanese condition ranks for how wear is graded.

Why Japan

Louis Vuitton has long been one of the best-loved houses in Japan, and a culture of careful keeping is why a Keepall or a Zippy wallet can arrive from Tokyo with little wear and, often, its box. The wider argument is in Why Japan Is the World's Finest Market for Pre-owned Luxury.

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Index terms: louis vuitton stephen sprouse · lv sprouse graffiti keepall · sprouse graffiti speedy m92194 · sprouse roses keepall m48605 · sprouse roses neverfull · louis vuitton collaboration 2001 · louis vuitton 2009 tribute collection · marc jacobs sprouse

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