‘A monumental marriage between art and business,’ is how the designer Marc Jacobs, then the creative director of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear line, would describe the collaboration between the behemoth of Parisian luxury and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Debuting as part of Jacobs’ S/S 2003 collection for the house, Murakami’s multi-coloured reimagining of the Louis Vuitton monogrammed handbag – most memorably on white canvas – would become the it-bag for the it-girls du jour (and has had something of a renaissance in recent years on resale sites due to fashion’s fascination with all things 2000s).
A slew of Murakami collabs would follow – his playful cherry and flower motifs would appear across the house’s leather goods throughout the 2000s – running until 2015, a year after Jacobs exited the label, replaced by current artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière. The influence of the partnership was immense: not only did it rack up hundreds of thousands of handbag sales for Louis Vuitton, it would also spawn the phenomenon of the art-fashion collaboration, one which shows no signs of abating today (at Louis Vuitton alone, since 2003 the house has collaborated with Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama, Cindy Sherman, Marc Newson and Jeff Koons, among others).
Inside the Louis Vuitton x Murakami London-pop up
Late in December, Louis Vuitton announced that it would be reinvigorating its collaboration with Murakami with a ‘re-edition’ collection which will be revealed in chapters throughout 2025 (a splashy ad campaign, featuring house muse Zendaya, accompanied the news). Something of a greatest hits, ‘Chapter 1’ will celebrate the ‘Monogram Multicolore’ – Murakami’s original motif for the house – seeing numerous versions of the house’s ‘City Bag’, ‘Malle Wardrobe’ trunks, caps, silk carré scarves, belts and even skateboards adorned in the print, which is made up of 33 different colours. Meanwhile the ‘Supersoft Panda’, a typically Murakami-esque rendering of the animal, appears on necklaces and bag charms. ‘Chapter 2’ will launch in March 2025 with Murakami’s ‘Cherry Blossom’ pattern appearing across a similarly extensive product list.
To celebrate the launch, Louis Vuitton has inaugurated a number of colourful pop-ups in world cities; in London, a new two-storey space opens today (9 January 2025) on Brewer Street Soho. It promises a colourful immersion into the Louis Vuitton x Murakami universe, from fluffy flower cushions and tables adorned with ‘Monogram Multicolore’, to futuristic, chamber-like ‘modules’ filled with pieces from the collection (a note should also given to the staff uniform, a kind of space-age kimono pyjama with an LV pin at the chest). Archival pieces are also on display in the store, which Louis Vuitton says takes design cues from traditional modular Tokyo hotels.
Though arguably the Soho space’s biggest draw is the one-of-a-kind Louis Vuitton x Murakami café on the upper floor, housed in a ‘dedicated sphere module’, where cakes, pastries and drinks will be served from Murakami-branded cups or napkins (it will be the only such café in Europe). Meanwhile a vending machine, which can be played after shoppers purchase something from the collection and receive a special token, sees various Louis Vuitton x Murakami novelties, from stickers to trading cards, encased in plastic spheres ready to be won by the already-queueing aficionados.
Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up is open now at 39 Brewer Street, London, W1F 9UD. Until 9 February 2025.
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