Last night, amidst a soundtrack of disco hits and 60s strummers, a crowd of guests including Naomi Campbell and Lindsay Lohan dined on sashimi and sipped sake in the private penthouse apartment at the New Bond Street Louis Vuitton store in London. The occasion? To honour not only LV menswear designer Kim Jones’ and his autumn/winter 15 collection, but the man who inspired it all: the late artist and designer Christopher Nemeth, whose original rope patterned prints adorn many of the pieces and accessories you can now see in stores.
The evening’s understated Japanese theme felt in keeping with British-born Nemeth’s life and work, as he spent the last two decades of life in Tokyo in tireless pursuit of his creativity and craft until his death in 2010. A highlight of the evening was Tim Blanks in conversation with Jones and jewellery designer and stylist Judy Blame, a longtime collaborator and friend of Nemeth’s, with whom he founded the legendary East London creative collective the House of Beauty and Culture in the 1980s.
Nemeth has long been regarded as something of an unsung hero of British fashion – a multi-disciplinary talent whose deconstructed clothes defined the rebellious spirit of young London in the early 80s, before moving to Japan and defining a generation of Tokyo’s street style. Now, Jones uses his platform at the helm of Louis Vuitton Menswear to bring Nemeth’s name and work to a global audience – a long overdue but welcome gesture, certainly evident from the room brimming with Nemeth’s friends, admirers and new fans alike as they danced into the early hours.
