Luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton has unveiled The Louis, a boat-shaped concept shop in Shanghai, with upper levels designed to resemble its classic trunks.
The new shop is located at the front plaza of HKRI Taikoo Hui, a shopping mall in central Shanghai.
The entrance is a visually immersive archway featuring Louis Vuitton’s monogram canvas trunks
The main body of the ship is wrapped in a metallic monogram, with a silvery anchor shaped like the LV logo dropped from the front of the ship to the ground.
The ship’s upper levels were designed to look like Louis Vuitton‘s historical trunks, stacked in different sizes. An outdoor terrace is located in a sunken area of the deck and features parasols to create a seaside atmosphere.
The exhibition showcases the brand’s historical trunks
According to Louis Vuitton’s in-house design team, the boat shape pays homage to Shanghai’s port culture as the “Gateway to the East”, while also nodding to the brand’s history of crafting trunks for transoceanic voyages.
It was designed to “create a new cultural landmark” within Shanghai’s central business district.
The Sports room presents trophy trunks used for major sports events
The shop comprises three floors. The first two floors are dedicated to an exhibition that showcases the brand’s culture and history, with a cafe sitting at the top.
Visitors enter the exhibition via an opening near the head of the ship, where they are taken into a visually immersive archway.
Called the Trunkscape, this installation features the brand’s monogram canvas trunks, with ever-changing nature scenes as a backdrop.
Designed by Shohei Shigematsu, partner at architecture firm OMA, the installation was previously on display at LV The Place Bangkok and Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka.
The exhibition ends with a gift shop
The archway leads to the Visionary Journeys exhibition, where Shigematsu, in collaboration with Louis Vuitton’s team, created a series of thematic rooms that explore the brand’s heritage in a space spanning 1,200 square meters.
Each room highlights the trunks as the origin of the brand. Rooms include a library, a workshop that showcases the craftsmanship of the trunks, a showcase of trophy trunks used in major sports events, and a room that displays Louis Vuitton’s fashion and perfume collection.
A trunk-themed cafe is located on the top floor
The exhibition ends with a gift shop, where a selection of leather goods, accessories, shoes and travel items is available for purchase.
Le Café Louis Vuitton on the third floor continues the use of trunks as the main backdrop of the interiors. Here, warm wood surfaces were combined with soft lighting to evoke the cabin of an old cruise ship.
The Louis will open to the public for free from 28 June.
The luxury brand has been known to use trunks for facade design in recent years, concealing its under-renovation New York flagship store with a luggage facade. In Paris, it recently decorated its store with an inflatable replica of artist Yayoi Kusama peering over the roof.
The photos are courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
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