It is about fashion, yes. But it is also about art, culture, literature and architecture. Louis Vuitton, a brand that boasts a 150-year-old heritage of excellence, always goes beyond the depths of fashion.
This is precisely what we experienced when we attended the opening last week of the new Louis Vuitton Maison in Taipei, a store that has transformed itself into becoming Taiwan’s new shrine of art and style.
What used to be a small trading port in Taiwan is now a sparkling metropolis and home to the first Louis Vuitton Maison. The Louis Vuitton store first opened its doors in Taipei Mall 97 back in 1983.
As Taipei experienced a tremendous growth, becoming the political and financial district of Taiwan, Louis Vuitton expanded and built a bigger store along Chung Shan North Road, which experienced big changes, turning into a global store in 1999, with Taiwan’s increasing purchasing power for luxury goods.
LV adds a cultural dimension through the works of art of renowned artist Michael Lin and the second Louis Vuitton bookstore in the world strategically located on the second and fourth floor. The first bookstore, of course, is located inside the Louis Vuitton Maison on Champs-Elysees in Paris.
We asked Guillaume Thery, the chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton, Paris, what made them decide to include the bookstore in the new store for Taipei.
"Books come to us in a very obvious way. I saw so many bookstores all around the city, some of which are open 24 hours, and after seeing the biggest Page One bookstore I have ever seen, obviously Taipei is really a market for book lovers," he explained.
The LV bookstore, the first of its kind in Asia-Pacific, boasts a wide array of books in Japanese, French and Chinese, and it also features an entertaining "Magic Book" projection.
The LV store that occupies a four-story complex is a stunning visual feast inspired by the Damier checkboard pattern. Chosen to do the job was Japanese architect Inui Kumiko, a Yale graduate. Designing for a luxury brand isn’t new to Kumiko as she had just completed the renovation for another popular European label at Ginza in Japan last year.
At night, the building proudly stands out illuminated by fiber optics. Architect Kumiko used artificial limestones with shapes of square dots with LED backlighting at night. She carefully incorporated her design with the beautiful trees around the area. The size of the patterns is the same size as the trees. "I wanted to make a connection between the park and the store," Kumiko said.
She explained: "Each panel is really different, using a special technique called water jetting. Some 100,000 holes were made in the facade. Each hole was laser-cut and inserted with resin. We made windows in certain areas, making sure that the trees outside complemented the building design. When I design, I trust my natural instincts."
The renovation, which started in January 2005, came out magnificently beautiful. Francois Delage, president of LV Asia Pacific, declared: "Among all the designs presented to us, we found the design of Inui Kumiko the most appealing. We were in the same level of dreaming. We continuously brainstormed for ideas, we wanted surprises, and the bookstore was planned a few months ago."
Well-known Taiwanese artist Michael Lin who shuttles from Paris to Taipei was commissioned to do the wall panels of the elevator as well as the whole fourth floor, which is for the exclusive use of LV’s VIP guests. With these clients in mind, the Taiwanese artist specially designed the leather walls in the elevator with embroidered pink floral patterns that offset the tinted stone floor. The corridors were painted from walls to ceiling with Venetian appliqué wall lamps to give that warm, comfortable ambiance. Lin wanted Louis Vuitton’s top clientele and celebrity guests to get the calm feel of entering a beautiful garden. The customers may relax while viewing fashion videos in the VIP lounge as their needs are attended to by the well-trained staff. In a city where bookstores are important, a larger bookstore, complete with comfortable sofas, was certainly provided.
For the inauguration of the Taipei Louis Vuitton Maison, a new superior diamond watch called Speedy Twilight Taipei, limited to 12 pieces, was specially crafted for avid LV lovers. In addition, to mark the special event, a yellow-gold Pineapple Charm, limited only to 28 pieces (a lucky number for Taiwanese), was created to celebrate the April 28 grand opening of Taipei Maison.
To cap the celebration, Louis Vuitton, which is also celebrating its 150th year, held a grand party at the grand Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. Yves Carcelle, CEO and chairman of Louis Vuitton, flew in all the way from Paris to welcome Taiwan’s top celebrities and VIP clients.
Speaking of the Pineapple Charm, the pineapple is Taiwan’s iconic fruit and a symbol of vigor and prosperity. Louis Vuitton designed an Apple Charm for the LV Fifth Avenue Maison in New York, followed by a lantern design for launching the flagship store at Beijing China World, and a Beijing opera mask for the Landmark Maison in Hong Kong.
Fantasizing about a future Louis Vuitton Maison in the Philippines, we could only dream of someday carrying our very own Mango Charm. Or should it be a Carabao Charm? Or a Jeepney Charm?
Mr. Marc Jacobs, we are eager to be stunned.