The long awaited debut of Louis Vuitton’s 301sq m store focusing on its travel heritage took place at London Heathrow Terminal 5 today.

The company says that this latest opening – the first in European airport travel retail – coincides with the unveiling of Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2015 collection which was presented earlier in Monaco a the Place du Palais by Nicolas Ghesquiere.

Describing the store, the company said: “Aquatic motifs abound, from cut out ‘portholes’ on navy sweaters to maritime flares to the rich embroideries depicting coral branches. This is a collection that calls to mind the Cote d’Azur, perfectly in tune with the house’s legendary roots in the Art of Travel.”

The store itself is flanked by an articulated series of metallic striped glass ‘fins’ finished in bronzed anodized aluminum. On the entire perimeter of the façade is a sequence of hanging transparent units hung by Louis Vuitton belts, recalling the artisan heritage of the Maison, and allowing visibility straight into the store.

L – R: Brian Woodhead, Heathrow Commercial Director, Tom Meggle, MD of Louis Vuitton and Jonathan Coen, Heathrow Retail Director.

 

The company says that the store offers leather goods, women’s ready to wear and shoes, accessories, sunglasses, fine jewellery and watches and it is easy to navigate.

 

Actors celebrate the opening of the new store’s doors at LHRT5 today.

 

REMAINING FAITHFUL TO ITS HERITAGE

Customers and visitors can look up and see 80% of the ceiling surface crafted from suspended aluminum blades, which range from a gold oak brushed veneer, to others clad in hand-crafted bronze and gold wallpaper. Beige leathers, polished plaster in light gold, smoked teakwood and antique brass metalwork compliment the look.

The luxurygoods icon says it has also remained faithful to its heritage and fine craftsmanship, along with its ‘enduring relationships’ with artists and designers, from Richard Prince to Takashi Murakami to Charlotte Perriand and Yayoi Kusuma.

 

The store exterior will boast ‘a mesmerizing installation by Ange Leccia’, the contemporary French painter, photographer and filmmaker whose renowned works are exhibited in international galleries and museums, from the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, to the Gugghenheim Museum in New York – and now, inside Louis Vuitton Terminal 5.

 

The company added: “The commissioned short film, Giraglia, will be presented on a digital screen set within the impressive 6m façade of the store. The film follows a natural pattern: the Mediterranean Sea.

 

 

The promise of what was to come: the hoarding hiding the Louis Vuitton store front which was still firmly in place in Terminal 5 when TRBusiness passed through last week.

“The artwork presents a hypnotic maritime rhythm, an aquatic landscape of incessant swaying of coming and going. This quiet flow provokes thoughts of existence and of nature’s pulsations, and of course it neatly chimes with the idea of a voyage, travelling across oceans to adventures new.”