Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Artycapucines VII marks a dazzling reunion between art and fashion. The new collection reimagines the iconic Capucines bag as a sculptural masterpiece — one that celebrates joy, craft, and creative freedom. Presented at Art Basel Paris, this collaboration invites us to rediscover Murakami’s whimsical universe through the refined lens of Louis Vuitton craftsmanship.
Why the Capucines—and why Murakami now
The Capucines is Louis Vuitton’s most adaptable icon. Named after Rue des Capucines, where the house was founded, it has become the ideal base for artistic reinterpretation. Since 2019, the Artycapucines program has invited artists to transform the bag using their own visual language.
Murakami takes this challenge further. He turns imagination into structure, applying marquetry, gold leaf, mirrored canvas, and 3D resin forms. During Art Basel Paris, the bags were displayed beneath a giant octopus installation, creating a world where art and fashion naturally meet.
The Golden Garden: lacquered light, Edo lineage
The Golden Garden Capucines BB glows with refined elegance. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines BB Golden Garden M27299, it retails for $43,500 and is limited to only 150 pieces worldwide, with deliveries starting in January 2026.
It is crafted from gold-leaf-covered leather, enriched with floral marquetry and delicate enamel paint. The result pays tribute to Murakami’s love for Edo-period art. His fascination with gilded screens and botanical motifs shines through every petal and curve.
Rather than looking flashy, the bag feels poetic — like a fragment of a modern Rinpa painting reimagined as an accessory.
The Mushroom: a forest you can carry
The Capucines Mini Mushroom pushes the limits of what a handbag can be. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines Mini Mushroom M27193, this collector’s edition is priced at $34,500 and limited to only 205 pieces worldwide, with deliveries starting in January 2026.
Over one hundred hand-polished resin mushrooms grow from a mirrored canvas surface, creating a dazzling, otherworldly effect — as if you were holding a miniature enchanted forest. Each mushroom is 3D-printed, shaped, and polished by hand, while the mirrored background scatters light in every direction, turning the piece into a living prism.
This Capucines captures Murakami’s playful surrealism in three dimensions. It feels at once joyful and meticulously engineered — a perfect bridge between haute craftsmanship and contemporary art.
The Tentacle: Mr. DOB goes cephalopod
The Capucines Mini Tentacle brings Murakami’s universe to life once more. Officially named LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines Mini Tentacle M27195, this whimsical piece is priced at $31,000 and limited to only 95 pieces worldwide, with deliveries starting in January 2026.
Murakami’s beloved mascot, Mr. DOB, reappears here as a playful pink octopus. The bag transforms his smiling face into a swirl of flowing leather tentacles that wrap across the Capucines silhouette. Bright, glossy, and full of motion, it embodies the joyful energy of kawaii culture while showcasing Louis Vuitton’s technical mastery.
The construction is extraordinarily intricate: layers of colored leather are hand-cut, shaped, and edge-painted to create a sense of depth and fluidity. During the Art Basel Paris presentation at the Grand Palais, the Mini Tentacle echoed the giant octopus sculpture that framed the installation — blurring the line between art object and wearable design.
The Capucines EW Rainbow
The Capucines EW Rainbow injects humor and warmth into the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Artycapucines VII collection. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines EW Rainbow N89666, it is priced at $28,400 and limited to 380 pieces worldwide, with deliveries beginning in January 2026.
This joyful edition resembles one of Murakami’s smiling flowers brought to life in plush color. A semi-circular rainbow of soft, multicolored fur fans around a bright yellow “face,” complete with enamel eyes and a playful red mouth. A gleaming yellow LV logo crowns the top, while a crisp white handle completes the whimsical yet refined silhouette.
The Capucines East West Dragon
The Capucines East West Dragon channels Takashi Murakami’s fascination with Japanese mythology and painterly motion. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines EW Dragon M27201, this edition is priced at $24,700, produced in only 105 pieces worldwide, with deliveries starting in January 2026.
Inspired by Murakami’s celebrated Dragon in Clouds painting, the bag reinterprets the coiled, celestial creature as a tactile artwork in leather. The East West silhouette provides an elongated canvas where the dragon’s body sweeps fluidly across the surface, each scale rendered through layered marquetry and fine embossing.
Gilded accents highlight the dragon’s sinuous form, while its fiery eye gleams in enamel—a small but magnetic focal point. The handle, finished in textured leather reminiscent of dragon skin, reinforces the sense of mythic strength.
More than an accessory, this Capucines embodies Murakami’s mastery of balance: tradition meeting technology, precision meeting imagination. It transforms an ancient symbol of power into a contemporary icon of motion, proving that even the most legendary creatures can find new life through craft.
The Panda Clutch
The Panda Clutch is perhaps the most theatrical piece in the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Artycapucines VII collection. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Panda Clutch M27199, it is priced at $51,000 and limited to just 130 pieces worldwide, with deliveries beginning in January 2026.
Murakami’s iconic panda, long a symbol of innocence and humor in his work, becomes a jewel-like object in motion. The compact silhouette is fully encrusted with over 6,000 hand-set rhinestones, each meticulously chosen to capture the artist’s vibrant palette. Under light, the clutch shimmers like a miniature sculpture — part toy, part treasure.
Despite its playful form, the craftsmanship is pure haute maroquinerie. Each crystal is applied individually by Vuitton artisans, ensuring a flawless gradient between white, black, and pastel tones. The panda’s wide eyes and serene expression radiate warmth, a gentle wink at Murakami’s recurring theme of childhood wonder.
The Capubloom
The Capubloom captures the essence of Takashi Murakami’s floral universe — cheerful, hypnotic, and unmistakably alive. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines Capubloom M27196, this radiant piece is priced at $31,000, limited to 380 pieces worldwide, with deliveries beginning in January 2026.
Inspired by Murakami’s monumental Flower Matango sculpture, the bag distills that explosion of color and form into a handheld artwork. Its rounded Capucines silhouette becomes a garden in miniature: petals crafted from multicolored leather and polished resin, arranged with almost architectural precision. Each bloom appears to pulse with life, echoing the artist’s fascination with growth and mutation.
The interplay of texture and tone defines this piece. Smooth leather contrasts with enamel-tipped petals, while subtle metallic accents trace each curve. In Murakami’s world, flowers smile not just as symbols of happiness but as reminders of the fragile balance between innocence and chaos — a duality this Capubloom expresses perfectly.
At once sculptural and wearable, the Capubloom is a joyful synthesis of art and savoir-faire. It proves that Murakami’s playful imagination can thrive even within the intimate frame of a Louis Vuitton bag, blossoming into something both collectible and profoundly human.
The Mini Autograph
The Mini Autograph distills Takashi Murakami’s wit and color sensibility into its purest form. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines Mini Autograph N89734, this edition is priced at $41,000 and limited to just 115 pieces worldwide, with deliveries beginning in January 2026.
Here, Murakami transforms his own signature into the main decorative element — not as branding, but as art. His looping, calligraphic autograph stretches across the Capucines’ supple leather body in a dynamic composition of enamel, color, and metallic accents. The contrast between the structured silhouette and the free-flowing line embodies the playful tension at the heart of Murakami’s practice: discipline meeting spontaneity.
Each stroke of the signature is embossed and hand-painted, producing a raised texture that catches the light with movement. The bag’s minimalist shape lets the gesture speak — fluid, confident, and unmistakably Murakami.
The Mini Autograph blurs the line between identity and creation. It transforms the idea of an artist’s mark into something tactile and personal — a piece that, in true Murakami fashion, signs itself into legend.
The Capucines MM Eye
The Capucines MM Eye transforms Takashi Murakami’s fascination with perception and play into a surreal statement piece. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines MM Eye M27194, it is priced at $22,300 and limited to only 85 pieces worldwide, with deliveries beginning in January 2026.
Dominated by a single, oversized eye motif, this edition captures the whimsical strangeness that defines Murakami’s art. The bag’s smooth leather surface becomes a canvas for the pupil’s hypnotic swirl — rendered in glossy enamel and fine embroidery. Surrounded by radiating lines of color, the eye appears to follow the viewer, turning the Capucines into a living sculpture of observation.
The construction is deceptively complex. Vuitton artisans layer leather in curved forms to create subtle depth, while hand-painted gradients enhance the illusion of motion. The result is both playful and unsettling — a fusion of pop art and surrealism that questions what it means to “see” luxury.
More than an accessory, the Capucines MM Eye feels like an extension of Murakami’s artistic universe — one that delights, provokes, and ultimately reminds us that beauty often begins with a gaze that dares to look differently.
The Capusplit BB
The Capusplit BB explores one of Takashi Murakami’s most enduring themes — the coexistence of opposites. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines Capusplit BB N89731, this edition is priced at $41,000, produced in only 75 pieces worldwide, with deliveries beginning in January 2026.
The design divides the Capucines silhouette into two mirrored halves, creating a visual dialogue between contrast and harmony. On one side, smooth monochrome leather expresses restraint; on the other, a kaleidoscope of color and metallic appliqués bursts into motion. The split line — sharp, deliberate, and perfectly centered — recalls Murakami’s fascination with dual perception: serenity versus chaos, tradition versus play.
Louis Vuitton’s artisans translated that concept into technical precision. The seams are invisibly fused to maintain the bag’s clean geometry, while each colored panel is hand-cut and edge-painted to ensure seamless continuity. Subtle LV hardware in polished gold balances the composition, grounding the exuberant palette in quiet sophistication.
The Capucines XXL Camo
The Capucines XXL Camo stands as the boldest expression within the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Artycapucines VII collection. Officially titled LV x Takashi Murakami Arty Capucines XXL Camo M27200, this commanding design is priced at $18,500, limited to 155 pieces worldwide, with deliveries starting in January 2026.
Here, Murakami reinvents the camouflage motif as a visual paradox — both playful and powerful. The pattern, woven in tonal shades of green, reveals subtle shapes of his smiling flowers and abstract faces hidden within the texture. Instead of blending in, this camouflage stands out; it’s art disguised as function.
The oversized silhouette gives the bag a sculptural, architectural presence. Crafted in jacquard canvas with a soft drape, it balances its voluminous form with refined details: a smooth black leather handle, golden LV hardware, and a flash of red leather framing the magnetic clasp. Inside, the spacious interior is lined in supple black leather, proving that even Murakami’s most exuberant ideas rest upon Louis Vuitton’s impeccable craftsmanship.
Installation as context: an octopus with good taste
The Art Basel Paris display was more than an exhibition. It was an entire Murakami world. Tentacles rose from the floor, plush spheres floated through the air, and glowing sculptures surrounded the Artycapucines bags. The installation blurred the line between retail and art gallery. Every element spoke the same language—playful, surreal, and irresistibly joyful.
A twenty-year story, reimagined
The partnership between Murakami and Louis Vuitton began in the early 2000s under Marc Jacobs. Together they created the Monogram Multicolore, Cherry Blossom, and Monogramouflage lines — collections that redefined what luxury could look like.
Two decades later, Artycapucines VII brings that legacy into the present. Instead of printing art onto bags, Murakami sculpts it into them. The collaboration moves from surface to substance, proving that a fashion icon can evolve while staying true to its spirit.
What this collection says about Louis Vuitton today
Artycapucines VII isn’t just a return — it’s a statement. Louis Vuitton shows that luxury can evolve through imagination and craft. Each Capucines becomes a small exhibition of technique, celebrating the artist’s personality while reinforcing the maison’s legacy.
Murakami, in turn, uses the project to explore how his playful, “Superflat” style can expand into tactile reality. The result is joyful, modern, and deeply human — proof that when art and craftsmanship meet, fashion transcends function.
