Nicolas Ghesquière presents his Louis Vuitton Women’s Fall-Winter 2021 Fashion Show at the Louvre in Paris.

This season, Nicolas Ghesquière embarks on an odyssey with a collection that reflects on Greco-Roman antiquity, incorporating the drawings by Fornasetti that explore, illustrate, and impart style. The collection tells a story of mind, body, and heart, where humankind takes center stage, in all its functional elegance, intellectual dominance, and earthly seduction.

“I wanted something impactful, something that conveys hope and joy for what’s coming next, and for people to have a good time watching,” Ghesquière said. “A moment of fashion.” The video ends with the last model peering up at the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a Hellenistic sculpture dating to the 2nd century B.C. that has occupied its current spot in the Louvre since 1884. As Beyoncé made abundantly clear in the video she made at the museum with Jay Z., Victoire is a potent symbol. Here and there Ghesquière showed an understated peacoat, a quilted cape in a neutral shade of taupe gray, or a sturdy work jacket, but these were mostly foils for frocks of the gilded lamé sort underneath. This was a collection of Louis Vuitton trophy pieces for the coming-out parties we’re anticipating after a year in suspended animation.