Luxury retail brand Louis Vuitton has launched a cruise ship-inspired installation, The Louis, in Shanghai’s Nanjing West Road business district – an immersive, multi-storey retail-meets-exhibition experience.
Standing nearly 30m tall and spanning over 1 500sqm, The Louis has been designed as a nod to the brand’s 19th-century origins in travel trunk craftsmanship, reports Forbes.
The exterior evokes the hull of a classic ocean liner, complete with a ‘cabin’ façade made from hard-sided Louis Vuitton trunks and the brand’s monogram pattern adorning the ship’s frame.
The three-level installation combines hospitality, culture and retail. The first two floors house ‘Louis Vuitton: The Extraordinary Voyage’, an exhibition that traces the brand’s long-standing ties to global travel and maritime history.
Visitors can explore a Perfume Room featuring vintage toiletries, a Book Room with titles by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, and a Sports Room displaying luxury travel items linked to events such as Formula 1 and the Olympic Games.
Interactive displays include live craftsmanship demonstrations in dedicated ‘workshop and testing’ zones, where artisans reveal the intricate process behind Louis Vuitton's product design.
At the top of the vessel, Le Café Louis Vuitton offers guests a curated food and beverage experience. The menu blends local Shanghai flavours with Western influences, reinforcing the global theme of the space.
The Louis Vuitton design team said the project was intended to honour both the brand’s heritage of equipping transoceanic travellers and Shanghai’s own maritime legacy as the ‘Gateway to the East’.
The installation also concludes with a boutique offering a curated selection of Louis Vuitton leather goods, shoes, accessories and travel items.
