Yipes. So, it seems that Clint Arthur bought two Murakami prints at the MOCA pop up Louis Vuitton boutique for $6,000 each.

He came home and I guess he felt a little miffed because 1) there was no authentication paperwork and 2) the paperwork he did have said that, “This artwork is signed and numbered by the artist on the chassis.” He was hoping for a “this is number 12 out of 100 type thing… But. the only thing on the back was a “a dark M-shaped squiggle”.

Anyway… so he goes poking around and he finds that Sections 1740-1745 of the California Civil Code gives specific guidelines for art dealers selling “multiples”.

The deal is that California law mandates that sellers of limited edition pieces of art to disclose specific information on authenticity and the limited nature of the work. Which sounds fair…

But get this… violation of these sections allows for triple damages! Interesting that he’s suing Louis Vuitton- not Murakami or MOCA.  Yeah- something tells me he’s hoping to make quite a turnaround on that $12,000 investment!

Read more on this story from the LA Times.

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I love it.   Here you’ve got Marc Jacobs.  He’s rich.  He’s famous.  He’s been designing for Louis Vuitton for just over 10 years now.  And what amazing piece does he chose to carry to the Louis Vuitton preview party for the @Murakami exhibit at MOCA?  Limited edition?  Special order?

Nope.  A Louis Vuitton Poche Toilette 26.  A simple, traditional monogram cosmetic case.

I totally love it.  On a man or a woman, the Poche 26 makes a great, simple, understated, convenient and relatively economical clutch.  (OK, and it also makes a nice cosmetic case!)

If you love his look- you’re in luck!  We can help you pull it off for below retail!

We have a gorgeous pre-owned authentic monogram Louis Vuitton Poche Toilette 26 on eBay right now!   Be sure to check it out…

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(Photo: Staci Schwartz for the Village Voice)

I appreciate a good critique. And so, when I began Lynn Yaeger’s critic of the Murakami Exhibit and shop at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in the Village Voice, I was right with her.

She speaks of the Murakami/ Marc Jacobs collaboration as resulting in “cutesy-poo Louis Vuitton handbags”.

Of the fake Canal Street set up by Louis Vuitton outside the museum the night of the Brooklyn Ball, Lynn said:

“Actors impersonating impoverished illegal immigrants trying to make a living? Who came up with this swell idea? Not since Marie Antoinette dressed as a shepherdess has such blatant bad taste, such revolting hauteur infected a social gathering. (Maybe it’s a French thing?) In any case, this grotesque Potemkin Village is torn down by the time I visit, so instead of expressing my outrage at fake fake-bag booths, I’m battling toddlers to get a look at Murakami’s cartoon films.”

And while I may not agree with her analysis, I certianly can see how she gets there.

She shoots the whole “Lonesome Cowboy” and “Hiropon” easy targets… rips on the outrageous prices, and items in the store such as the “hideously glommed-up gold number called the Marilyn”.

That’s all fine with me…

But here’s where she loses me. Lynn goes on to tell the story of her frustration as she sat on the waitlist for a Louis Vuitton Murakami Cherry Blossom bag back in 2003. Apparently, her name never came up… and so she settled for the Cherry Blossom Canal Street special pictured above.

“In the end, I went down to Canal Street, the same ratty Canal Street that Vuitton thought was so witty to make fun of. And there I found a wonderful fake flowered satchel for $35, which I thought a cool guy like Murakami would probably get a kick out of, since the nameless third-world artisan who made it added some flourishes that LV hadn’t thought of, like silver faux-snakeskin trim and mirror studs.”

From there, it’s just down hill… trolling Canal Street & eBay for current fakes and ripping on Louis Vuitton’s anti-counterfeit educational measures.

Come on Lynn. If all this bugs you so much, why would you ever buy a fake?

If you really want to beat the system, you don’t buy a fake. You know that. A fake (besides all the regularly argued reasons why it is just bad- not to mention illegal) is tacky and inauthentic. By inauthentic, I mean the wearer looks fake. The carrier wants other people to believe that the very things that bug you- that they got through the wait list, paid the ridiculous prices, and actually like the cutes-poo design. All this is a high price for the collateral damage that the counterfeit market produces.

If you want to beat the system, you buy an authentic Louis Vuitton… at a discount price- by buying pre-owned. It’s legal, it’s relatively economical (if you’d have bought that Cherry Blossom bag, and kept it in great condition- you could probably sell it today for about what you paid- or more!), it’s environmentally friendly :), and you’re no poser!

Hey, Lynn. Let us know if you’re in the market. Promise us that you’ll never carry that ridiculous bag above again, and we’ll give you free shipping on any of our beautiful, authentic pre-owned luxury bags!

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OK, say what you will about Anna Wintour, but I just think she’s a little cutie! I mean, look at that face! I just want to pinch those cheeks!

This is Anna at the Murakami x Louis Vuitton x Brooklyn Museum of Art “Brooklyn Ball”. I’ve seen her carrying this particular piece before and I have to say I’m totally stumped by it.

What the heck is it? Agenda? Clutch? Book cover? I really can’t say.

EDITED:  Just got a note from DeluxeDuck….  It looks like this is “the Monogram Perle Pochette from S/S 2000. the Monogram pattern is made up of tiny beads.”  It was in the fakes episode of Sex in the City- Samantha carried it… Check the comments below.  Thanks Duck

(not such a great pic from Marc Jacob’s MySpace page…)

And is pretty fat.

(pic: wireimage.com)

Any of you have any other information on it? I love it… and would love to hear more!

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OK, so mean to say that… I don’t have the picture of a Louis Vuitton Murakami Monogramouflage Speedy- yet.  But can’t you just imagine it in the coated canvas Monogramouflage above?  Click here for the close-up.

I added it to my “Louis Vuitton Monogramouflage, Up Close and Personal” post below if you want to see all three canvases.

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You can almost feel it! Click here or here or here to see it a bit closer…

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(Card Holder from Brooklyn Ball)

… that I’ve seen. I mean, it isn’t Canvas. But interesting, none the less.

(FYI:  I’ve gotten a few emails on this- it’s not for sale, it was a “freebie” at the Murakami Brooklyn Museum Ball.  It has “Brooklyn Museum 2008″ embossed on the bottom.  Want one?  Check eBay )

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(Jamie Snow & Brooklyn’s Marty Markowitz)

In all fairness, it’s probably mean to pick on Jamie Snow for snagging 8 Murakami placemats at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Ball as Radaronline reported. I mean, she surely wasn’t the only one gunning for the amazing freebies.  And you’ve got to hand it to her for owning up to it (from the New York Daily News):

“It’s a little true,” Markowitz laughed Sunday when asked about an item on RadarOnline.com that painted her as a tad greedy.”

(Jamie, if you’re reading this- we can fix this little PR nightmare for you. Read our offer at the end of this blog!!!)

A similar issue came up at the MOCA Preview (from Men’s Vogue):

“Tucking into plates of chilled cucumber, bigeye tuna sashimi, and seared beef rib eye with shiitake mushrooms, 1,000 dinner guests chatter about whether or not the Murakami technicolor fiberglass place mats under each table are free for the taking. As it turns out, the answer is yes, and by the end of the meal, the room has become an all-out swag grab, with scavengers running between tables and bickering over stray place mats. (Some want them for themselves, some want them for eBay, and a few, no doubt, want them as very pretty coke mirrors.)”

But then again… I can see how they’d be tempting. I mean just take a look:

(Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times)

I mean these are great looking as place mats OR as little works of art!  And, “Everyone’s doing it!”:

( Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn from WWD)

(Joanne Factor, photo: New York Social Diary)

(Stellan Holm, photo: New York Social Diary)

And eight? Sounds like a place setting to me!

I personally like the MOCA placemats better.

(From the Pharell’s BBC Blog)

What do you think???

*** Hey Jamie… you obviously can’t keep these placemats now- and to sell them and keep the money would be just scandalous. Why don’t you send them to us? We’ll set up a charity auction for you, donating the proceeds of your auction plus OUR regular consignment fee to the charity of your choice. Send me an email at sarah@fashionphile.com

It’s win win!

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(Getty Images)

Hmmm, so I (like you) have been dying to know what if any limited edition pieces will be sold at the @Murakami exhibit Louis Vuitton store in Brooklyn. The MOCA LE pieces were a huge hit- so it’s made me super curious.

(Getty Images)

Emily and Ben (my sister and brother-in-law) are hopefully going to get me some pictures (depending on how sneaky they can be)… but it looks like at least we’re going to be able to pick up Limited Edition Multicolore Marilyn bags- black and white, with gold instead of Vachetta leather trim.  We’re getting conflicting info as to the price, but it looks to be between $1500-$1550.

The Multicolore Marilyn is the bag featured in 33 colors of exotic skins packed and displayed in an amazing matching white Louis Vuitton Multicolore Trunk especially designed to house them- it was at MOCA and will be at the Brooklyn Museum as well.

(Picture Credit: View Images)

The New York Times reported about the Louis Vuitton store at @Murakami… talked about having the Monogramouflage canvases for sale, Multicolore items for sale and (this caught my eye):

“Other leather goods designed for the show will be for sale too.”

Murakami also promised, “I will be introducing new characters”- but whether these will be Louis Vuitton items with Murakami characters or just one of the many Murakami items available… I just don’t know.

I love this parting line from the NYT article about the MOCA Louis Vuitton store:

“The Los Angeles show attracted young people who had never been to the museum. “Many of the kids were first-time visitors, who came because they heard about the show through various kinds of cross-branding,” Mr. Schimmel said. “Names like Louis Vuitton, Kanye West and eBay.”

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I was thinking about how Takashi Murakami must have seen the Louis Vuitton Neverfull as a canvas that just needed to be painted! It’s a great frame for those distinctive Hands!

Nicky Hilton looks fantastic with hers. I love how it complements her jacket- and really brings the outfit together.

For those of you who haven’t been able to attend the Murakami Exhibit at LA’s MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art)… this bag’s for you! As you know, they have been sold out in the GM size- and the exhibit is closing in a little over a week.

If you’re loving Nicky’s look- we’ve got an authentic Louis Vuitton Murakami Neverfull GM on eBay right now.  Free shipping for my blog readers on this one! Just enter coupon code: 22blog

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