‘LV Dream‘: Immersive Louis Vuitton exhibition celebrates its rich history of collaboration

The now-shuttered La Belle Jardinière department store, a stone’s throw from Paris’ Pont Neuf, was the first of its kind – combining a workshop and sales floor, it offered the historical equivalent of contemporary ‘ready-to-wear’ from its founding in 1824 (prior to that point, clothing was made bespoke to its wearer or purchased second-hand). 

As of this month, that space – which closed its doors as a department store in 1974 – contains an array of unique fashion objects of a different kind, each drawn from the extensive archives of Louis Vuitton and the spoils of the house’s extensive history of collaboration. A record box, in the house’s recognisable monogram, created by Helmut Lang in 1996 (famously, Grandmaster Flash appeared in the accompanying campaign); a portrait of the house’s eponymous founder by American artist Alex Katz; the eerily prescient masked nurse outfits from Marc Jacobs’ S/S 2008 Louis Vuitton show, part of a collaboration with Richard Prince.

Louis Vuitton’s ‘LV Dream’ exhibition and café in Paris

These pieces are part of a new exhibition titled ‘LV Dream’, an immersive exploration of Louis Vuitton’s various collaborations with internationally renowned artists, designers and cultural luminaries (the resulting objects span clothing, accessories, homeware, artworks and more). Those names are numerous and traverse continents and disciplines, among them Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons, Stephen Sprouse, Rei Kawakubo, Azzedine Alaïa, and Nigo.

Other objects in the exhibition date back further, suggesting a longer-running dialogue between Louis Vuitton and the wider creative community – an early room contains an 1890 bespoke carry case for image-maker Paul Nadar to hold his photographic equipment (its design features Nadar’s signature) and a desk created by the house for British conductor Leopold Stokowski which folds away into a trunk for easy transportation. Elsewhere, a collection of decorated perfume bottles range from the house’s first foray into fragrance in 1922, etched with a playful feminine figure, to contemporary iterations designed by Frank Gehry and Alex Israel.

These links between Louis Vuitton’s heritage and its various interpretations by ensuing generations of creatives provides the impetus behind ‘LV Dream’, which unfolds over nine rooms purpose-built within the otherwise cavernous space (indeed, much of Vuitton’s fashion output is defined by such imaginative leaps between eras – particularly that of womenswear artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière whose collections might include an 18th-century brocade frock coat and futuristic sneakers in a single look). Each room is thematic – ‘Louis Vuitton: As Seen By’, ‘Art on Silk’, ’Reinterpreting Icons’ are some of the titles – and includes work of the house’s former and current creative directors, among them Ghesquière, Virgil Abloh, Marc Jacobs and Kim Jones, alongside their various collaborators. 

Immersive elements are interspersed throughout: one room invites you to ’get inside’ a giant version of Rei Kawakubo’s ’Bags With Holes’, first made in 2014 as part of the house’s ‘Celebrating Monogram Collection’ (as the name suggests, several of these rarely-seen bags feature iconic Louis Vuitton designs sliced with cut-outs). In another, you are entirely surrounded by Stephen Sprouse’s painted ‘Louis Vuitton’ print which adorned handbags and luggage in Jacobs’ S/S 2001 collection. The final room contains an interactive digital wall – spanning 10m – on which designs from Nico, Grace Coddington, Christopher Nemeth and Daniel Buren respond to movement (‘with surprising effect’, says the house).

Befitting its description as a new ‘cultural location’, ‘LV Dream’ also comes complete with a second level comprising an expansive emporium of Louis Vuitton products and ephemera – much of it entirely unique to ‘LV Dream’, spanning books, figurines, sporting equipment and more – as well as a chocolate shop and café helmed by Cheval Blanc’s award-winning pastry chef Maxime Frédéric (together, they are titled ‘Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton’). The café itself sees the industrial space transformed with lush tropical vegetation, marble tables and curvilinear booths, from which Frédéric’s various creations – among them, blocks of chocolate with Louis Vuitton’s Damier motif, monogram bonbons and a chocolate marshmallow Vivienne – can be enjoyed in the tranquil surrounds.

‘LV Dream’ runs from 12 December 2022 – 15 November 2023 at 2 rue du Pont Neuf – Paris 1er (former Belle Jardinière department store), free admission upon registration at the Louis Vuitton website. Entry to Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton and gift store is free, with no need for reservation.

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