High-end fashion meets innovative design
December 2009
This article was produced by leading international art advisory firm 1858 Ltd who provide independent and impartial advice in association with the HSBC Private Bank art and design advisory team.
For decades Louis Vuitton has seduced the world with a winning business formula of beautiful status symbols, perfect shops and clever advertising. In recent years, Bernard Arnault, an avid art collector and the director of the world’s leading luxury brand - Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey - has set the Vuitton brand apart through art and design by embarking on a number of successful collaborations with artists. With the emphasis on quality and creativity Arnault’s approach has elevated the brand and made Louis Vuitton synonymous with both high-end fashion as well as art and innovative design.
The genesis of Vuitton’s artistic journey started with the arrival of the designer Marc Jacobs in 1997. Since then the Louis Vuitton monogram has been a canvas for international artists such as artist/photographer Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami as well as the late Stephen Sprouse whose graffiti scrawled bags triumphed and gave the old French luxury brand street creditability. As well as a newfound audience, the artistic collaborations have given the brand a dynamic contemporary context. In addition to these collaborations, in 2006 Espace Louis Vuitton was inaugurated, an innovative space of cultural and artistic expression in the heart of Paris. Espace Louis Vuitton produces and hosts three exhibitions per year, around the themes of travel, heritage, art and fashion. Each exhibition attracts more than 10,000 visitors and showcases artists and designers such as Zaha Hadid, Tracey Emin, Barbara Kruger and Yves Klein.
Most recently, Louis Vuitton’s flair for design and innovation has lead to an exciting new partnership with architect Frank Gehry (of Bilbao Guggenheim fame). Gehry is to design a building to house Louis Vuitton’s art collection in Paris - the Foundation Louis Vuitton pour la Creation. Gehry is a rare breed of architect and his involvement in the Vuitton project is made even more significant by the fact that Paris has been his favourite city ever since he lived there for a year in 1961, "Paris doesn’t need anything to make it better, Paris it’s pretty special already’. The building designed for Louis Vuitton is a flowing glass and steel structure, which in the architect’s words will be “an ephemeral, cloud like structure in the heart of Paris".
To learn more about the HSBC PB Art & Design Advisory service or to arrange a guided tour of Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton in Paris with an advisor from the HSBC PB Art & Design Advisory service, please contact the dedicated helpdesk on:
T: + 44 207 692 4884
E: hsbcpb@1858ltd.com
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