Delphine Arnault observes Karl Lagerfeld sketching

Head designer and creative director of French fashion house Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, has been tapped by Louis Vuitton to reimagine the brand’s iconic monogram for a collection of bags in celebration of the brand’s 160th anniversary.

Christian Louboutin clutches a cut of monogram

Along with Lagerfeld, architect Frank Gehry, photographer Cindy Sherman and designers Rei Kawakubo, Christian Louboutin and Marc Newson are the other big names involved in this limited edition collaborative effort called ‘The Icon and the Iconoclasts’.

Frank Gehry working on his Vuitton handbag

The project has been spearheaded by Louis Vuitton’s executive vice president Delphine Arnault, who told WWD; “We have assembled an amazing group of talents – geniuses, I would say. Each one is among the best in his or her field … The monogram is at the centre of our house, so we celebrate it every day. But we thought this project was really special because the personalities we chose are fascinating and diverse.”

Marc Newson inspects a bag’s detail

The collection will be accompanied by a website, a book, an advertising campaign and an event launch in New York City, and marks one of Arnault’s first large-scale projects.

The limited edition pieces will be available in mid-October for only a couple of months, with prices ranging from $USD 2,725 to $USD 5,450 or about 2,000 to 4,000 euros.