LV Dream - The Magical Universe of Louis Vuitton

Without photographic record or painting, how to know what a person looked like in the past? It is from this gap that the LV Dream show begins to unfold. The first stage is Louis Vuitton : as Seen by... with portraits signed by contemporary artists of the creator of the French brand, who was born in 1821 and traveled to Paris as a young man, where he opened his first store on Rue Neuve-des-Capucines, in 1854. The first representation – digital and immersive, which lies between reality and fantasy – is Mr. Louis by Cao Fei. There are also creations by Yan Pei Ming, Mister Cartoon, Alex Katz and Refik Anadol. The exhibition, set up in Paris in a historic building, that of the former Belle Jardinière department store, invites you to dive into the world of the brand until the end of November.

There is, throughout the rooms, a compilation of objects already seen in other initiatives of the brand and attractions developed especially for this meeting, which mixes fashion, art and gastronomy. The circuit, organized according to themes, also features niches such as The world of Louis Vuitton according to the King and Fashionable leather goods. Next to the portraits are unique creations from the last century, including the Stokowski Secretary Desk, an 1890s trunk once owned by photographer Paul Nadar, and Damien Hirst's “Doctor's Cabinet”. Among the pieces presented digitally is the bespoke trunk created in 2018 for the painting The Milkmaid by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer.

The Origins Room , paneled by Japanese photographer Kenta Cobayashi, provides a psychedelic backdrop for discovering iconic designs juxtaposed with artistic collaborations. Each grouping – modes of travel, beauty and the Objets Nomades – links early examples of savoir-faire with creations by Nicolas Ghesquière and Virgil Abloh, along with work by Jeff Koons, Stephen Sprouse and Marc Newson. Decorated perfume bottles and illustrations from 1922 appear with designs by Frank Gehry and Alex Israel.

Vibrant, graphic and rich in details, the Art on Silk room displays the silk scarf as a support, from which artists interpreted Louis Vuitton codes. Starting with the Textile Series of the late 1980s, when the Maison invited talent such as Sol LeWitt, James Rosenquist, Gae Aulenti and Andrée Putman to freely express their vision through prints, and more recent designs from a few names such as Urs Fischer, Tracey Emin and Andre Saraiva. The World of Vuitton set feature collaborations with Rei Kawakubo, creative director and founder of Comme des Garçons. In 2008, the stylist created a capsule of six Party Bags, innovative in format and functionality. Then, in 2014, he made a contribution to the Celebrating Monogram Collection: Bags With Holes, which elegantly subverted Louis Vuitton tradition.

The Reinterpreting Icons room highlights designers and artists who transformed the Monogram in 1996 – for its centenary – and in 2014. Here are creative bags like “Punching Bag” by Karl Lagerfeld, “Studio Trunk” by Cindy Sherman, “Twisted Box” by Frank Gehry and Christian Louboutin's "Shopping Bag". “Leather Goods in Fashion” is dedicated to partnerships with artists Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama, who combined Louis Vuitton's heritage with irreverent pop art. Handbags as a blank canvas, a literal and metaphorical starting point, is the theme of the next room, divided between variations of the Monogram and Artycapucines collections. There, it is possible to see interpretations by two Brazilians, the artists Beatriz Milhazes and Vik Muniz.

The final room, Art Meets Fashion, brings together the creatives who have worked with the artistic directors of men's and women's lines since the maison introduced fashion in 1998: Daniel Buren and Richard Prince with Marc Jacobs; Jake and Dinos Chapman and Christopher Nemeth with Kim Jones; Atelier Fornasetti and Grace Coddington with Nicolas Ghesquière; and Nigo with Virgil Abloh. In addition to runway looks, this room features a 10-metre-long interactive digital wall, where design concepts by Daniel Buren, Nigo, Grace Coddington and Christopher Nemeth respond to visitors' movements – sure fun for kids and adults alike.

For the gastronomy chapter, for the first time Louis Vuitton presents a café and a chocolate shop in Paris: Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton. In a refreshing scenography with tropical plants, the pastry chef at Cheval Blanc Paris transforms Louis Vuitton signatures into beautiful and delicious sweets. “The idea was to offer the widest possible variety that could please everyone”, explains Frédéric. After this immersion, anyone who wants to take home an exclusive item from the brand – a selection of small leather goods, accessories, fragrances and publications developed just for this space – just go to the little shop located on the same floor. To gain access to this universe, it is necessary to schedule a visit on the exhibition website.