Monday, November 25, 2024 – TIME TO CHECK OUT FIFTH AVENUE FOR HOLIDAY TREATS

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NEW LOOK ON FIFTH AVENUE

Louis Vuitton Conceals Under-Renovation NY Store With Luggage Facade

Monday, November 25, 2024

ISSUE #1350

REALTY +

Fashion brand Louis Vuitton has concealed its under-renovation New York flagship store with a luggage facade and relocated to a temporary store that features OMA-designed sculptures.

Louis Vuitton covered its flagship at East 57th Street and 5th Avenue in a facade modelled after the brand’s distinctive trunks, while simultaneously opening a temporary location around the corner, with sculptures developed with OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu that rise through an atrium.

Designed by Louis Vuitton’s in-house team, the luggage facade wraps completely around the construction underway at the New York City flagship. It resembles six, grey trunks of various sizes stacked in descending size.

According to the team, the design pays homage to the brand’s Trianon Grey canvas, a light grey textile which dates back to the 19th century.

Details such as handles, locks, rivets and silver hardware are also represented on the facade, with the team noting the largest of the handles “weighs 5,000 pounds”.

“It is finished with the classic detailing synonymous with Louis Vuitton’s savoir-faire including handles, signature locks, and silver hardware rendered in chrome-plated, laser-cut steel,” said Louis Vuitton.

“3D scans of real Louis Vuitton hard-sided trunks were used to create the locks and latches, and the steel corners have been hand-welded. The stack features 840 rivets, each etched with the moniker ‘Louis Vuitton’.”

Strips of lighting run along each of the trunk’s perimeters, while bands of black and brown represent leather lining. While construction takes place at the flagship, the brand has relocated its retail operations to a five-storey building around the corner at 6 East 57th Street, which contains four floors inhabited by a chocolate shop, men’s and women’s wear, and the debut of the brand’s first cafe in the US.

The building’s exterior architecture and interior floorplan remain unchanged according to the team, although it is now outfitted in a material palette of light woods, creams and shades of brown amongst an exposed concrete structure

Four, towering 16-meter-tall sculptures developed by Shigematsu sit in the lobby atrium, similarly modelled after “iconic” trunks.

“The trunks are built at the ateliers to actual product specifications and stacked to erect shifting, counterbalancing, twisting and zigzagging forms showcasing strength and lightness,” said the team.

“Each is further distinguished by using different Louis Vuitton materials – historic stripes, classic Monogram canvas, white Damier, and a metallic Monogram – which have redefined the timeless piece from the past to today.”

Oversized, sculptures of a giraffe and ostrich and a screen with Louis Vuitton motifs cover the building’s facade, which was also lined with bright exterior pendants.

The flagship construction could “potentially” double the size of the store, according to New York Yimby, while the temporary location will shut down after the renovation is complete

THE TEMPORARY LOUIS VUITTON SHOP IS ACROSS 5TH STREET, (IN THE FORMER NIKE STORE, TEMPORARY TIFFANY STORE).

Today, Louis Vuitton unveiled their largest retail space in the United States, located at 6 E. 57th Street NYC. Though the store is a temporary location while the iconic Louis Vuitton flagship on 5th Avenue undergoes a multi-year renovation, you would not know it from a look inside. The location spans five floors and features a chocolate shop, a café, and a capsule collection that pays tribute to the city that never sleeps.

Upon entering the location, one immediately finds themself in an atrium space offering a glimpse of the above four floors. The room is adorned with stacks of the House’s Courrier Lozine trunks spanning from floor to ceiling. Designed by architect Shohei Shigematsu, the trunks highlight different materials the Maison is known for – from classic Monogram canvas to sophisticated white Damier checkerboard. It is a visual spectacle on a scale only Louis Vuitton could execute with such perfection.

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