Louis Vuitton opens ephemeral New York store featuring a galaxy of offerings

Attention aspiring pop-up store proprietors: Louis Vuitton just seriously raised the bar for an ephemeral boutique. With its former flagship on the corner of 57th and 5th now a façade of massive, towering LV trunks while it undergoes a Frank Gehry revamp, the LVMH namesake brand has returned to a familiar spot to house its Fifth Avenue location while construction takes place.

Located in the former ‘Niketown’ that also housed Tiffany’s while it underwent its majestic revamp, the temporary location offers an all-encompassing display of the brand’s various product offerings, including its first branded café stateside and a chocolate bar. The wares are showcased over five floors, each with a specific focus, easily making this ‘Louis Vuittown.’

FashionNetwork.com was on hand while marketing teams offered a pre-opening party tour as craftsmen, technicians, and merchandisers put the finishing touches on the new space, which boasts its largest stateside.

Thanks to the five-story open atrium that Nike left behind, impressive stacks of trunks placed every which way became monoliths to draw shoppers in and look up to witness the floors above accessible by escalators and elevators left behind by the sports shoe giant, as well as the metal railings throughout each section marked by a Swoosh. The photo op-worth display was thanks to Shohei Shigematsu of OMA, who was responsible for an immersive exhibition in Bangkok earlier this year.

Other Instagram-able moments came in historical and playful vignettes (or in this case, ‘Vuittonettes’) on each floor showcasing the viral bag moments dating from the Marc Jacobs era of the brand. Bags made with Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama, Supreme, Takashi Murakami, and Stephen Sprouse were housed with backdrops of their respective patterns. A branded New York City phone booth will also be a popular attraction.

Also, there is an exquisitely crafted curation of made-to-order furniture and collectible vintage and contemporary furniture from Carlo Mollino, Charlotte Perriand, Christophe Delcourt, and Pierre Augustin Rose, among others. The Arnault family’s love of art was seen in artworks, each specifically commissioned for the store. Works from local artists Todd Eberle, Chris Martin, and Isadora Capraro, along with pieces from Caio Fonseca, Antonio Ballester Moreno, and Brooklin A. Soumahoro, each had a graphic, modern art vibe that added pops of color throughout.

With the main floor focusing on leather goods, fine jewelry, and New York exclusive giftables, the following floors were designated by customer interest. On level two is the women’s section that allowed the entire women’s universe to be experienced at once, answering that age-old question, “Who is the Louis Vuitton woman?’ (One party guest quipped she must be channeling a bit of Liza Minnelli, thanks to the proliferation of sequined holiday separates on offer.)

For the ultimate ski experience, this floor also contained the complete ski line offerings just in time for the winter. The men’s floor similarly housed all categories, with a punctuated emphasis on accessories for “humans”, something, according to a brand rep, is key for men’s creative director Pharrell Williams. The floor also features the wildly popular dog accessories.

The third floor offered the debut of Vuitton’s culinary efforts stateside, replete with a Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric. The horseshoe chocolate bar displays the fantasy sweets while classic trunks cleverly disguise refrigerators to keep the chocolate in primo condition. The first eatery also marks the floor, Le Café Louis Vuitton, led by chefs Christophe Bellanca and Mary George, who will serve cuisine with a French influence and local traditions, quite often given the house flower Monogram and Damier logo treatment. The café is operated in conjunction with Starr Restaurant Group.

The final floor, which will not commonly be open to anyone who walks in the door, houses four VIC shopping suites and the full range of furniture and homewares. The Objets Nomades collection featured pieces from Atelier Oi, Campana (Cocoon chair), and Raw Edges, among others. The private shopping areas feature custom red carpet styles designed by women’s creative director Nicolas Ghesquière and fine jewelry on display by artistic director watches and jewelry Francesca Amfitheatrof. (This floor also features the sports-themed crests left behind on the spaces’ red brick walls.)

To celebrate, the house threw a party for 1,800 guests that ranged from Cynthia Erivo, who popped in for a photo op on the way to the New York premiere of ‘Wicked’, to Martha Stewart, who posed for photos with the chefs, to Bradley Cooper, Ana de Armas, and Eve Hewson.

The guests free-flowing Ruinart, custom cocktails, and New York-style hors d’œurves with a French twist while taking in custom illustrations by a New Yorker cartoonist, savoir-faire hand-painting demonstrations, the café’s library curated by Ian Luna, and musical journeys DJ duo The Fcukers and Beastie Boys founding member Mike D, who brought OG authenticity to the dancefloor, motivating a usually reserved fashion crowd to dance.