{"product_id":"louis-vuitton-x-takashi-murakami-alma-bb-m14197-washed-blue","title":"Louis Vuitton × Takashi Murakami Alma BB M14197, Washed Blue Epi Leather with Panda Charm, Two-Way Bag","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"jp-product\" data-world=\"Maison × Artist Collaborations\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-lede\"\u003eA notably restrained Louis Vuitton × Takashi Murakami Alma BB in washed blue Epi leather, distinguished by a dimensional Panda charm and a single, selective multicolor LV mark. Rather than total surface takeover, Murakami's character language enters the object through concentrated interruption, a cooler and more selective register of the collaboration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost people first meet the Murakami-Vuitton partnership through works that refuse subtlety: cherries, smiling blossoms, multicolor monograms that seem to bloom directly out of the heritage canvas. Those objects changed the temperature of luxury by making it louder. This piece lowers the volume. The washed blue leather shifts the emotional field from spectacle to atmosphere, from saturation to breath, and the bag reveals its complexity only through prolonged attention. That restraint is not a weakness of the design but its maturity, and it places the bag within a more selective, less overexposed branch of the archive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Alma has always been one of Vuitton's most disciplined silhouettes. Its curve is controlled, its base grounded, its dome-like structure resolved long before ornament enters the conversation, so Murakami's interventions must operate against a form that resists excess. The applied mark on the front punctuates the surface rather than flooding it, and the Panda interrupts the silhouette's discipline with movement and humor. Vuitton's architectural certainty and Murakami's animated instability coexist without either fully winning, which is what makes the object alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Panda is the emotional engine of the piece. One of Murakami's most potent character inventions, it moves quickly between registers, comic, childlike, strange and slightly unruly, and is deeply recognizable without being as overexposed as the flower. Suspended as a charm rather than printed as a graphic, the character enters actual space: it swings, tilts and knocks lightly against the body of the bag, turning the object from image into small theater. The piece is not merely decorated by Murakami; it is accompanied by him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn earlier Murakami pieces the monogram became a site of transformation through saturation, multiplication or overt pop disruption. Here the LV mark is smaller and more selective, an echo rather than a total field: a remnant of the multicolor-monogram revolution condensed into one point of emphasis, Vuitton remembering Murakami rather than reliving him wholesale. Epi deepens that effect. Its ridged surface catches and disperses light in a measured way, and the washed blue flattens aggression into an almost atmospheric softness, so that the material acts as editorial control. The gold hardware then sharpens the composition with warmth, and everything is balanced through contrast: cool leather, warm metal, playful character, formal silhouette.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not an entry-level object. It asks the collector to understand why the color, the Panda, the selective monogram treatment and the Alma structure matter, and it rewards those who have moved past the first layer of Murakami-Vuitton fascination toward greater compositional restraint and a longer visual afterlife. Built on tone rather than logo-memory, and on one of Vuitton's enduring silhouettes, it belongs to the kind of collaboration piece that grows in importance as the broader archive is understood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDetails\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"jp-details\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaker:\u003c\/strong\u003e Louis Vuitton × Takashi Murakami\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eModel:\u003c\/strong\u003e Alma BB, Panda charm edition\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReference:\u003c\/strong\u003e M14197\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Epi grained cowhide leather with applied multicolor LV monogram detail and dimensional Panda charm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Washed Blue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMeasurements:\u003c\/strong\u003e Width approx. 23 cm × Height 17.5 cm × Depth 11 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIncluded:\u003c\/strong\u003e Box, storage bag, shoulder strap, padlock and keys\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHardware:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gold tone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCarry:\u003c\/strong\u003e Top handle plus detachable shoulder strap, two-way configuration\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCondition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-grade\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJaponista grade AB\u003c\/strong\u003e · Very good, with light wear visible on close inspection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePre-owned example graded around AB, with visible signs of use, while retaining the complete formal vocabulary of the piece.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShape disturbance, surface wear, small scratches, creasing and minor dulling.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSoftening to the handle and strap structure.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe wear does not erase the design: the silhouette remains legible, the color register compelling and the charm dramatically effective, with surface life rather than structural loss.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAuthenticity \u0026amp; Care\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference M14197, the Louis Vuitton × Takashi Murakami Alma BB in washed blue Epi with Panda charm, offered with box, storage bag, strap, padlock and keys. Every piece is examined and documented in Japan before dispatch and is offered with the Japonista authenticity guarantee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDelivery from Japan\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePacked by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Returns follow our \u003ca href=\"\/policies\/refund-policy\"\u003epublished policy\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"jp-closing\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsidered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. Pieces over $1,000 may be reserved over several payments with \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/japonista-layaway-privilege-program\"\u003eLayaway Privilege™\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContinue browsing: \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/collections-luxury-archive-designer-treasures\"\u003eJapan Luxury Archive\u003c\/a\u003e · \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/louis-vuitton\"\u003eLouis Vuitton\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-related\"\u003eRelated pieces: \u003ca href=\"\/products\/louis-vuitton-x-takashi-murakami-speedy-35-m95773\"\u003eLouis Vuitton × Murakami Monogramouflage Speedy 35\u003c\/a\u003e · \u003ca href=\"\/products\/lv-supreme-epi-christopher-pm-red-white-m53414\"\u003eLouis Vuitton × Supreme red Epi Christopher PM backpack\u003c\/a\u003e · \u003ca href=\"\/products\/louis-vuitton-nigo-monogram-duck-bag-m45990-limited-edition-shoulder-bag\"\u003eLouis Vuitton × NIGO Monogram Duck Bag\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"jp-cta\" data-world=\"Maison × Artist Collaborations\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-cta-eyebrow\"\u003eSuperflat Requests\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeeking a different colorway, edition or size from the same collaboration? Our Hunting Salon™ locates a specific reference across Japan’s private collector circles, then inspects, documents and delivers it to you. \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/hunting-salon%E2%84%A2\"\u003eBegin a Hunting Salon™ request →\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"jp-search\"\u003eCollectors also search: louis vuitton murakami alma bb blue · louis vuitton m14197 · murakami panda charm alma · washed blue epi alma bb · lv x murakami panda bag · murakami epi two-way bag\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Louis Vuitton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52221988438309,"sku":null,"price":8765.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0758\/8829\/6229\/files\/LouisVuittonxTakashiMurakamiAlmaBBWashedBlueEpiPandaCharmRareArchiveCollaborationBagM14197_1.png?v=1776261223","url":"https:\/\/japonista.com\/products\/louis-vuitton-x-takashi-murakami-alma-bb-m14197-washed-blue","provider":"Japonista","version":"1.0","type":"link"}