Louis Vuitton – “temporary landmark”

Louis Vuitton at one point was a retailer. Now, it's becoming a "meta brand", an impressario. It's as if simply selling merchandise can be left to one of the 9 stores on Manhattan - this Landmark store is more of a fabulous experience. I say "fabulous" since story-telling is at the heart of this bravado show of property confidence. Before heading to the store it's worth remembering that this is the company that paid Yayoi Kusama to collaborate on a range of bags, paint their stores, and rolled out a global campaign featuring her work (including installing a life-size animatronic version of her painting in the 5th Avenue windows). This is also the brand that has created a self-mythologising exhibition/gallery in prime Paris rive gauche real estate that is a mix of 'greatest hits' from their archive and a very, very busy gift shop - the LV Dream. So, it is with this exuberance and love of spectacle that they create a "temporary" landmark (in a multifloor, open-core building) just across from their new multi-year development on 5th Avenue. That redevelopment is notable since it's eschewed scaffolding and instead dressed the whole building in a Louis Vuitton trunk, complete with 500lb buckles and metal rivets. The store itself is really a place for tourists to visit and worship, with a focus on experience, gifting and personalisation. We could mention the art on every floor, the architecture, the personalisation stations, the skew towards smash-and-grab trinkets for tourists, the 'gastronomic experiences' (aka cafe and chocolate shop), but the best explanation is simply to get on the escalators and ride to the top of the store and then ride back down. Indeed, there's a 'Disney theme park' aspect to the store. This isn't to denigrate the brand, the products or the wonderful staff. Rather it's recognition that the brand has reached such a state that shoppers have become visitors or admirers, whose pockets are lightened for products, customisation, food and - above all - the 5-second video snippets. After all, when you can buy the product in any number of places, it's more about the venue than the goods.