From Bags to Riches

An amusing thing about the French label, Louis Vuitton, is how it challenges you to figure out what aspect of business is it they do best when you step into their flagship store in ION Orchard. Yes, there’s their classic line of luxurious leather monogram bags. Then there’s the exquisite collection of prêt-a-porter. But there’s also the intricate architecture and dignified structure of their largest boutique in South East Asia that closes you off from the outside world and introduces you to a place that encapsulates only the Louis Vuitton ardor. The handsome interior and rich layout of the store garners enough attention to cast aside their reputation as a fashion power house, albeit temporarily.

That’s when the disorientation set in.

How did an extravagant brand acclaimed for its leather bags morph into conglomerate of architecture, design and fashion?

Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation, the exhibition presented in the Hong Kong Museum of Art from 22 May – 9 August 2009, answers that, chronicling the Louis Vuitton sartorial finery and the bold punctuations its stores and styles has created world wide.

Started in the mid 19th century as a retailer of luggage, it incorporated fashion and durability etched with its omnipresent LV symbol into each trunk and bag. On display are trunks from the 19th century made for aristocrats as artifacts. When exploration and voyages transpired in that era, Louis Vuitton was meticulous that his creations endured travels by the sea and rail and of course, time.

A predilection for a vogue sybarite, Louis Vuitton can come across as unattainable and possibly archaic, but with its induction of American designer, Marc Jacobs as its Creative Director in 1997, collaborations with contemporary Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami and designer Stephen Sprouse (remember cherry blossoms and the words “Louis Vuitton” in scrawl?) brought about a mélange of graffiti and popular art into fashion and design.

In 2006, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy appointed famed Canadian-American architect, Frank Gehry to design the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation, a museum in Paris. The 127 million dollar project is an etch of their foray into contemporary design.

From its days as a leather and luggage connoisseur, the Louis Vuitton corporation is altruistic to venture into architecture, prêt-a-porter and books today, stamping an artistic presence in the world as prominent as its monogram itself.

Well, till the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation is completed, let’s just head down to the flagship store in ION Orchard.