Chloë Sevigny marked Louis Vuitton’s cruise 2027 show in New York by posting an archival Nicolas Ghesquière dress from his little-known Callaghan era, underscoring her long-running friendship with the designer and her reputation as one of fashion’s sharpest archive hunters. Ghesquière is currently artistic director of Louis Vuitton and is widely known for his influential run at Balenciaga from 1992 to 2012, where he helped transform the house into a cult favorite. His lesser-known stint designing for Italian knitwear label Callaghan has also become part of fashion lore, especially among devoted followers of his early work.
According to the account, Ghesquière’s path to Balenciaga was unusual. He began by working on licenses, then became Balenciaga’s creative director at age 26, a move that reportedly happened almost by accident. Under his direction, the Spanish house gained new energy and a devoted following. During this same period, he took on a side role at Callaghan, operating under an agreement that prevented either side from publicly acknowledging the arrangement. Despite the secrecy, fashion insiders eventually learned of it, and interest in Ghesquière’s work only grew.
The Callaghan chapter came to an end when the company, then part of Gucci Group, bought Balenciaga and Callaghan was unable to renegotiate Ghesquière’s contract. His third and final Callaghan collection was shown in New York City, marking both his first runway presentation in the United States and his last for the label. The collection itself has remained a reference point for fans of his early design language.
Sevigny has been close to Ghesquière since those years. She attended the VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards in the same month as his Callaghan show, appearing as his date, and later continued to wear his designs at Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton. For the New York celebration of Vuitton’s cruise 2027 presentation, she chose a 26-year-old jersey dress from the final Callaghan collection, styled in contrasting emerald green and navy stripes. Her Instagram caption, “#deepcuts #flex,” framed the look as both an homage and a knowing nod to true fashion insiders.
At the Louis Vuitton event, Sevigny also wore a look from the brand’s fall 2026 collection, reflecting her continued loyalty to Ghesquière’s work. That collection, shown at the Louvre, mixed patterns, textures, and fabrics in a way that echoed the designer’s interest in fashion as a universal language. The setting, filled with historic treasures, offered a grand backdrop for a designer whose own archive has become part of fashion history. Yet for devotees of Ghesquière’s career, Sevigny’s closet may have held the most significant treasure of all.
