Last night was the Louis Vuitton Cruise Collection preview. I received the invitation a couple of weeks ago, & all it said was…

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Cocktails, okay. But would there be a show? A media presentation? Models? Or a mad rush of fashionistas trampling one another to get to the champagne?

I turned up at Michelson Studio, which from the outside was a very inconspicuous building with an elevator at street level. Two girls dressed in black & wearing black silk scarves covered in a multi-coloured Louis Vuitton monogram took my name, checked me off a list & I tottered into the elevator.

The doors opened to a huge space, white & glorious, set up like a kind of labyrinth with a view of the river. Makeshift walls had been erected & featured fabulous illustrations by Tanya Ling, & along the improvised passageways the cruise collection was displayed. Dresses hung, tantalising me with their details & craftsmanship. Handbags in bright colours sat proudly on shelves. Shoes winked & glimmered under the lights.

The collection was designed by Marc Jacobs, & I think he did a magnificent job. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it, actually. It was gorgeous. There were plenty of pieces there that I would love to own. There was so much colour & vibrancy, which I really appreciated. Many of the pieces were bold, brash & daring. Bravo monsieur!

One of the most amazing things (to me) was the fact that the pieces on display were available to try on. I was too busy chatting for it to occur to me to don any of the wares, but I should have! How fabulous would an impromptu photoshoot have been?! Oh, me & my big mouth! Next time!

This is my favourite piece from the collection. I am not the sort of girl to describe anything as “fierce”, but this? A hot pink jumpsuit? It is ABSOLUTELY, 100% FIERCE! Maybe a bunch of us could save up to buy it & then wear it in turns?!

Yum-o-rama!

I also really like this ensemble. Pink & silver shoes, an enormous pink bag, a visor & patent leather fingerless driving gloves! Swoon! I would wear all of those accessories in a heartbeat!

This dress is so fabulous that it doesn’t need any explanation. Look at the beautiful shape & the pink lining! Excuse me while I wipe the drool from the corners of my mouth. If that doesn’t inspire you, nothing will!

Okay — now on to close-ups of the actual pieces as I saw them!

These heels are magnifique. Not so high you can’t walk in them — practicality can be useful! — & the most luscious colour.

I am not usually a monogram kinda gal. But I might make an exception for a bag like this. It’s nice & big, too. Perfect for overnight trips to the Hamptons (’cause that’s so my ‘hood!). What would I pack in it? Gold doubloons, perhaps… an entire set of Encyclopædia Britannica… a fabulous hat… & an Oompa Loompa (strictly for entertainment purposes).

I love these. They are the kind of shoes I’d wear on the weekend if I was a sexy astronaut woman. I’d lie back in my lawn chair in Florida, vodka & tonic in hand, fantasising about flipping pancakes in a kitchen on the moon.

GASP. Okay. I think I actually have to own these. I mean… that is perfection in a glove.

Oh, Marc. OH, MARC. A glove like this could make a girl’s life complete. Or give her a heart attack. Perhaps a bit of both. A good fingerless glove is hard to find (& I have been searching since last year). I think I have met my match. Oh, pink gloves! Come to me! I would rock these so hard, it would be like… Stonehenge!

Of course, there were other pieces too, but they were designed for the more conservative crowd & didn’t appeal to my inner sartorial maniac. But I love that Marc took risks where it counted. I’m all about accessories anyway, so all the pink really tickled my fancy.

So… what do you think of the collection? I think I need to start putting money aside every week so I can snap some of these pieces up when they come out in November/December… & I simply must own a pink jumpsuit!