Models emerged from a forested mountainside at this year's Louis Vuitton resort show, which took place at the Miho Museum in Japan designed by Chinese-American architect IM Pei.

The French fashion house, headed up by Nicolas Ghesquiére, presented its Japan-inspired collection at the iconic site near Kyoto this weekend.

Ghesquiére had visited the site a few years ago and was drawn to the way Pei had integrated architecture into the mountainous terrain.

After 2016's show in the Palm Springs desert and last year's meandering catwalk around the Oscar Niemeyer museum, the creative director wanted to introduce another landscape and chose the forested Shigaraki mountains as the backdrop for the 2018 resort collection.

"Japan is a country I know well," he said. "It was one of the first places I travelled to when I was seeking inspiration, some twenty years ago, and I've been a regular visitor ever since."

"This collection is the culmination of what Japan has given to me for a very long time."

The catwalk began inside the museum building, which is buried into the mountainside. Models emerged from the tube-shaped metal tunnel and out onto a suspended bridge, where onlookers flanked either side of the runway.

With the combination of the urban and natural environment as a starting point, the collection featured samurai-inspired dresses, garments inked with Japanese landscapes and modern takes on ceremonial costumes.

Obi belts were integrated into the pattern of tapered trousers, and jersey and leather sweaters were intended to recall the armour worn by Japanese warriors.

Handbags and clutches were decorated with Kabuki masks, which are worn during classical Japanese dance and drama performances.

"The 2018 cruise collection alternates between the present day and a noble ancestral civilisation, between futurism and poetry, between huge, vibrant cities and delicate landscapes," said Louis Vuitton, which ranked at number 157 on the inaugural Dezeen Hot List.

IM Pei, who turned 100 last month, was commissioned to build the Miho Museum by Mihoko Koyama – the heiress to the Japanese Toyobo textile business.

The building features a roof of faceted translucent triangles designed to evoke traditional Japanese architecture. It folds over the complex and allows tempered light into its limestone-lined galleries.

The architect completed the building in 1997, but this is the first time it has been used to stage an event on this scale.

Louis Vuitton's last show was realised by British set designer Es Devlin, who created a twisting pathway around the Oscar Niemeyer-designed Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Niterói in Rio.