Fashion Eye Osaka

An aquarium, karaoke bar, shopping centre, Shinto temple... Drifting through Osaka like a disciple of Guy Debord, Jean-Vincent Simonet does not merely visit the city: he loses himself within it. Wandering from one neighbourhood to the next, he immerses himself in shifting atmospheres, free of preconceptions, direction or even intent. Before his eyes, dahlias, ordinary people and buildings pass by and collide, swept along by the same current, that of progress, which is impossible to curb. In 2018, his photobook In Bloom, a vivid and frenetic chronicle of a past stay in Japan, immersed us in a whirlwind of images, rapidly captured, instantly experienced and extensively reimagined. Already, the city embodied a mutating, sprawling creature, a cyberspace straight out of a video game. Already, almost flash-like visuals painted a hallucinatory yet faithful portrait. 

Now, Simonet is at it again, travelling from north to south through the capital of Kansai, the birthplace of Bunraku, Gutai, Osamu Tezuka and Tadao Ando. Taken by day or night with a telephoto lens, on a large-format camera or smartphone, his shots, kept as they are or retouched by hand, recreate the 'texture' of an industrial and rebellious city, a 'vast collage' whose 'retro-futuristic charm' inspired Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982). Each of these 'paintings' is printed using seven different inks, capturing the frenzied style explored in Color (2012) by Daido Moriyama. From the heights of the Tower of the Sun to the depths of the mini-bars at the Mittera Kaikan, the journey becomes a borderline experience.

Inspired by the House's travel heritage, the Louis Vuitton Fashion Eye Collection evokes cities, regions or countries through the eyes of fashion photographers, from emerging talents to industry legends. Each title in the series features an extensive selection of large-format photographs, together with biographical information and an interview with the photographer or a critical essay. After the Louis Vuitton City Guides and Travel Books, this third collection presents travel photography with a fashion perspective, as the chosen photographers all infuse their images of great cities, faraway places or dream destinations with their unique vision.