Almost Ready to Pack Up Its Bags:
Louis Vuitton’s “200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries” Exhibition Makes Its Final Stop
By Sydni Zfira
The timeless Louis Vuitton staple has been reimagined.
Louis Vuitton’s “200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries'' exhibition has reached its final destination: New York City. The traveling exhibit made its debut in August 2021 at the Vuitton family home in Asnières-sur-Seine, France before heading to Marina Bay, Singapore, finally touching down in Beverly Hills, California.
For the past year, the French luxury brand has been celebrating its founder’s bicentennial birthday by showcasing none other than its iconic trunks, which Vuitton began making himself in 1851 at the age of 16. Rectangular boxes measuring 50×50×100 centimeters are numbered 1-200, symbolizing Vuitton's birthday and the original dimensions of the trunks.
The fashion brand tasked 200 visionaries across science, art and pop culture fields with the freedom of customizing their own version of the luggage pieces. Brands and artists, such as Fornasetti, Supreme and Marc Jacobs, all designed trunks that are featured in this exhibit. Within these walls, imagination takes center stage as the vessels embody different dreams, desires and artistic expressions.
The fourth stop of the exhibition in Manhattan pays homage to the creativity of the Louis Vuitton brand, while also marking a homecoming for many New Yorkers as it is being temporarily housed in the iconic building that was once home to the beloved department store, Barneys. Though the celebration does not stop there as visitors can go to the reopening of Barneys’ well-known restaurant Freds, now renamed Freds x Louis, which features its original chef Mark Strausman for the limited duration of its stay.
This landmark building is also a work of art in itself. The facade of the building is covered in a colored stripe design that spells out “Louis” and resembles the early LV trunks. The exhibit fills all four floors of the interior of the building and none of them are the same. Throughout each of the floors is a scannable QR code next to each vessel, which tells visitors about the artist and their vision for the trunk.
The creativity doesn’t stop there. The basement, known as “The Residency,” brings imagination to life. Here, Louis Vuitton’s in-house creatives are on-site where they are hosting interactive workshops and talks from the area. They are also using this area as a workspace to develop window displays for the building’s exterior.
Once the exhibit closes at the end of December, all of the trunks will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s with proceeds going to charity.
As the exhibit makes its last stop, the art of travel encompasses the journey and history of Louis Vuitton while looking to the future and their next destination.
Louis Vuitton’s “200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries'' exhibition has reached its final destination: New York City. The traveling exhibit made its debut in August 2021 at the Vuitton family home in Asnières-sur-Seine, France before heading to Marina Bay, Singapore, finally touching down in Beverly Hills, California.
For the past year, the French luxury brand has been celebrating its founder’s bicentennial birthday by showcasing none other than its iconic trunks, which Vuitton began making himself in 1851 at the age of 16. Rectangular boxes measuring 50×50×100 centimeters are numbered 1-200, symbolizing Vuitton's birthday and the original dimensions of the trunks.
The fashion brand tasked 200 visionaries across science, art and pop culture fields with the freedom of customizing their own version of the luggage pieces. Brands and artists, such as Fornasetti, Supreme and Marc Jacobs, all designed trunks that are featured in this exhibit. Within these walls, imagination takes center stage as the vessels embody different dreams, desires and artistic expressions.
The fourth stop of the exhibition in Manhattan pays homage to the creativity of the Louis Vuitton brand, while also marking a homecoming for many New Yorkers as it is being temporarily housed in the iconic building that was once home to the beloved department store, Barneys. Though the celebration does not stop there as visitors can go to the reopening of Barneys’ well-known restaurant Freds, now renamed Freds x Louis, which features its original chef Mark Strausman for the limited duration of its stay.
This landmark building is also a work of art in itself. The facade of the building is covered in a colored stripe design that spells out “Louis” and resembles the early LV trunks. The exhibit fills all four floors of the interior of the building and none of them are the same. Throughout each of the floors is a scannable QR code next to each vessel, which tells visitors about the artist and their vision for the trunk.
The creativity doesn’t stop there. The basement, known as “The Residency,” brings imagination to life. Here, Louis Vuitton’s in-house creatives are on-site where they are hosting interactive workshops and talks from the area. They are also using this area as a workspace to develop window displays for the building’s exterior.
Once the exhibit closes at the end of December, all of the trunks will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s with proceeds going to charity.
As the exhibit makes its last stop, the art of travel encompasses the journey and history of Louis Vuitton while looking to the future and their next destination.