The last place we ever expected to see a mid-80s Toyota Celica is a Louis Vuitton photo shoot. It’s not that the affordable coupe isn’t stylish. It’s just not the type of car a mindless chaser of brands would typically associate with ridiculously overpriced high fashion. But there it is, finished in lavender and de-wheeled to look like some kind of hovercar from the future.
According to Louis Vuitton, the men’s 2023 spring-summer line “expresses the idea that imagination unites us and inspires the next generation of new creatives.” Elsewhere they say it “celebrates a union symbolized through the uninhibited imagination of children, made up of dreams and games, and by the movement of lines as a road to global creative possibilities” as a video shows a man walking up the hood of the car. Edgy.
The car appears to have been mostly stripped of its interior. It’s also weirdly missing part of the black side moulding on the fender and rear quarter panel. Despite this dearth, apparently the once common hatchback is now, some 40 years after it was built, futuristic enough to cosplay as a flying car. Props for the pop-up headlight love.
It should be noted that the entire car could probably be purchased for the price of a couple of these plain white Louis Vuitton T-shirts that cost an absurd $1,080 each. Yet even if you left the price tag on to let everyone know what you paid, you still wouldn’t look as comical as you would wearing this Hunger Games soda jerk outfit from the same catalog.
The campaign was shot by Tyler Mitchell in Spain’s Tecisa Desert. Would it be too much to presume the location is some kind of tribute to Spanish rally legend Carlos Sainz, who won the 1990 Drivers’ Championship with an Celica GT-Four? The ST165 is a WRC winner with 13 first place finishes under its belt. Let’s not reduce it to a bauble for the post-apocalypse’s least intimidating Mad Max faction.
Back To The Future would not have been such a hit with this abomination. That poor car!
So ’80’s cars and ’80’s fashion returns. The David Byrne Talking Heads big oversized suit is back and so is the Celica.
Everything about this is stupid, especially the prices for those shirts.
The background of the “soda jerk” photo makes it appear the model has a long knife in her? hand. Perhaps to be used for alterations to the clothing to properly size it for the wearer. My condolences to the Celica design crew.
In the words of Austin Powers, that’s a man, baby.
WoW! Talk about the “Greatest Show On Earth”! The only thing missing is the red nose to complete the ensemble. I hope they were well paid as these photos will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
i’d like to introduce to you the hovercraft formally known as Celica.