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Louis Vuitton teases art center opening with multimedia runway show

October 1, 2014

Fondation Louis Vuitton Fondation Louis Vuitton

 

French apparel and accessories brand Louis Vuitton used its spring/summer 2015 women’s wear show Oct. 1 to give its fans and attendees a sneak peek at the soon-to-open Fondation Louis Vuitton.

The museum, set to open to the public Oct. 27, was both the backdrop and the focus of the beginning of the show, in which large holograms of a mix of men and women spoke with a single monotonous voice about the “place that doesn’t exist for now,” “a ship that serves as an incubator and ignites our fellow creative minds.” This serves to further connect the eponymous label with the art project conceived by LVMH.

Grand opening
Keeping with the theme, Louis Vuitton told the audience in the introduction that the fashions would be exploring the concept of “the ability to travel to any part of the universe without moving,” a reference to the analogy of the museum’s building as a glass ship.

Louis Vuitton SS15 show

Louis Vuitton spring/summer 2015 show

The almost 126,000 square foot building, designed by architect Frank Gehry, will house permanent and temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, as well as commissioned work from artists.

Louis Vuitton ss15 show 2

Video still of Louis Vuitton's spring/summer 2015 show live-stream

For the opening, the foundation will display Mr. Gehry’s architectural project made specifically for the museum. This is a foil to a concurrent exhibit at the Centre Pompidou, the first European retrospective for the creative.

Leading up to the opening, Fondation Louis Vuitton has been posting an image per day on its Web site, focusing on the building, Mr. Gehry and art.

Fondation Louis Vuitton Web site

Fondation Louis Vuitton Web site

Further solidifying its place within culture, Louis Vuitton recently announced its plans to enter the publishing space.

Starting in October Louis Vuitton will publish “The Book,” a biannual, in-house glossy magazine. The branded print publication will be translated into 11 languages and mailed only to select Louis Vuitton clients (see story).