1 Hour: Louis Vuitton 200 Trunks 200 Visionaries
I received an email for the Louis Vuitton 200 Years 200 Trunks Show. For Louis Vuitton’s 200th birthday 200 visionaries were given a trunk to create whatever their heart desired. This traveling exhibit made its last stop at the old Barney’s building. At the end of the exhibit the trunks will be auctioned at Sotheby’s with proceeds going to charity. Intrigued, I saw that it was: 1. In NYC & 2. free. I was already planning on going to dinner on Thursday night so, as the saying goes, “free is for me!” I made a timed online reservation and invited my dear friend Vince to come with me as he: 1. is in NYC 2. loves fashion and photography, fashion photography and, of course, me.
The scoop is that you can wait online on a velvet roped line to enter or you can wait on a potentially shorter line or no line at all if you have your timed entry. I arrived early as per usual and took the time to photograph the outdoor windows which is an exhibit unto itself. From 3:20-4:10PM (Vince was late as per usual) there was no one online so maybe we lucked out and it was not a busy day. There was still incredible people watching which is not unusual for this stretch of Madison Ave with its luxury retailers but there was a noticeable influx of the beautiful and the fashionable streaming in and out of the Louis Vuitton doors. I told Vince when he arrived he missed the tall brunette wearing a tank bra, leather micro jacket, jeans and heeled booties like a modest Julia Fox. She was so hot that there was actual steam emanating from her 8 pack. “See what you miss when you’re not on time,” I taunted him.
We scanned our QR codes and followed past the length of the arm ushering us through the entrance. There was a black tunnel with white evenly spaced concentric rectangles of light leading to just the name LOUIS. Oddly no one was walking through. There were several people deep waiting at the entrance so that a single woman could enter by herself and be videoed doing a catwalk. It was now crystal clear why we are here if it wasn’t before. There was one impatient exhibit goer who clearly was not interested in social media moments who pushed through this bunch. We immediately jumped in her lane as if she was a firetruck zipping through midtown at rush hour.
After this rush we found ourselves greeted by a small jewel box of a black and white checkerboard room which is evocative of the Louis Vuitton Damier Ebène design. It is made very modern with its changing digital design that was mimicked on the walls as well as other recognizable Louis Vuitton brand designs and logos. It has been dubbed “The Magic Box” and is supposed to be a visual representation of Louis Vuitton bringing the past into the present and the future and sets the tone for the exhibit.
The next room was even more modern and cutting edge. The trunk was so cutting edge it was steel and robotic. The minimalist outer design by Willo Perron belies the complex inner workings of a future where a trunk is self-guided by AI. I know this because each room also has a guide who’s job it is to educate all the Tik-Tokers and Influencers on the trunks and not just the best angles. Also, to remind you not to touch or lean on the art.
The next trunk and walls were by Brooklyn artist Francesca Sorrenti which was a French inspired collage with pops of color on black and white images. This riotous collection had visages of eras gone by, famous landmarks intermixed with Parisian trunk stamps, fanciful blooms, cheeky looking birds and framed derrières. I admit I had a lot of fun taking pictures in that space.
Photographer Credit: @oldgeekadventures
As you leave that room you enter into an open theater where there is a video of what looks like an interview with an artist or artists. Trunks were set up as seating but I did not sit on the plywood boxes to watch as I wanted to see all of the trunks in the exhibit and I had limited time before my dinner reservation.
The screen area was a small conduit to a bigger space that felt like a warehouse of trunks upon trunks that were stacked on top of each other lining the walls and center. There were trunks of many diverse styles here. More digital design but also intricate hand craftsmanship that really ran the gamut of imagination from hand written notes to steel flowers and a trunk with a parrot head attachment. Some were not even trunks at all. There were so many different ideas and perspectives.
Click on images to learn more about the artist and work. If I can’t link to the exact artist and work than you will be linked to www.louis200.com
After we were done with this floor we took an escalator up to Franky Zapata’s floating trunk which unfortunately we were only able to see levitate on the video screen behind the trunk. Apparently the ceiling was not high enough for the gases to work their science magic.
The lighter than air theme continued in the Brooklyn Balloon Company by Robert Moy’s room filled with, of course, balloons. So many balloons! It’s an instant mood lift to be surrounded by brightly colored balloons in different shapes and sizes with the LV logo and emoji faces artistically draped throughout the room and illuminated on the trunk. Smiley pictures ensued.
Photographer Credit: @oldgeekadventures
The next featured trunk was a tea party right out of C.S. Lewis’s “Through the Looking Glass.” Alice & Co. are represented here in a delightful shadow box party made by none other than architectural genius Frank Gehry. I guess we know where he gets his whimsical ideas from!
From whimsical to dark, literally. So dark that the guide had a flashlight that she beamed around the room so we could see the exhibit and also to allow us to move around the room without knocking into the trunk and each other. This black leather trunk was accessorized by many locks that were meant to be impenetrable. It is an homage to Louis Vuitton who challenged the famous escape artist Harry Houdini to attempt to free himself from a locked LV trunk. Harry Houdini must have believed that the lock was impossible to open as he never accepted the challenge. Lurking in the dark in his leather daddy ensemble is a wax figure of the creator of this piece Peter Marino who is a renown architect and significant LV collaborator.
I happily exited from this purposely cramped space and I felt an immediate sense of relief as the darkness was getting claustrophobic. As we moved through to the escalator to the third floor we viewed Refik Anadol’s digital display. It is a trunk made of undulating waves of light that mimic fabric but are designed by data featuring Louis Vuitton monogram logos in an eye catching mix of the familiar warm browns and golds of the brand and purple reflection.
We ascended the escalator and entered the third and final floor where we are greeted by the very brightly lit pink March Jacobs/Stephen Sprouse trunk with its super aughts vibe. Major nostalgia for this Gen Xer.
Further along there were thoughtfully paired off trunks that shared a common sensibility or thread. Pictured here are works by paraOlympic champion Theo Curin and artist Friedrich Kunath.
Others were spaced a little away from each other. These included fanciful works from Kate Daudy of a sheep tending to its little babies, a red and white vertical striped hot air balloon monogrammed with LOUIS and an LV trunk for a basket tagged by another NYC artist KIDSUPER and a metal globe on an iceberg by world explorer Matthieu Tordeur.
I took several photos of these angled light blue ROB letters by another NYC artist Rob Cristofaro mostly because my husband is named Rob.
There were some featured trunks. One was housed in a padded velvet room reminiscent of a club or lounge that was quilted in a way to mimic sound proofing for DJ Benji B who fitted his trunk out with a working jukebox.
Photographer Credit: @oldgeekadventures
Following that musical theme was a floor to ceiling screen featuring jazz and Gorillaz drummer Femi Koleoso in a multi-sensory installation directed by Fenn O’Meally. Femi through his playing and words and Fenn through her editing and a little help from an adorable baby named Noah tell Fenn’s story: “This piece is about reminding you to connect with that inner child, explore, be curious, mess up and of course remember to PLAY." And perhaps even more fitting is that this is the last trunk of the exhibit before you head back to the beginning. In Femi’s words: “However you spread something positive or good to other people, that’s all that matters to me bruv. Everything else is decoration.” Perhaps this is a message that Louis Vuitton and all of the contributing artists have taken to heart as donations will be made to philanthropies around the world to encourage and cultivate the next generation of visionaries in arts and science in lieu of payment for these trunks.
As we made our way back down to the front door and past the LEGO birthday cake, we decided to take a quick twirl through the gift shop as: 1. we are poor 2. we are running out of time. The tasteful pop up shop was very neatly edited and had some interesting lifestyle type items but we were more interested in our new discovery!
There was another stairwell leading to the basement. In the basement was a workspace where miniature Louis Vuitton cardboard trunks were being decorated by exhibit goers. Markers, paper, glue, scissors and Louis Vuitton monogram initial stickers were made available for the crafting. I wish I had more time because I would have loved this activity. I also would have loved if the A sticker was not out, but managed to find a V and J and R for my kids and husband (ROB, remember?). Definitely keep this floor in mind if you make it to the exhibit. Some of the artists and creative staff give talks and lessons as well. If you have an hour (or more), stop in to see this enjoyable and thought- provoking show before it ends December 31st. And it’s free!
Joyeux anniversaire et merci à Louis !
PS - I made dinner exactly on time and had to wait for my dinner date.
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