The long-awaited reopening of Louis Vuitton in a Tokyo neighborhood has generated a well-rewarded expectation: a building that simulates a sea column.
Louis Vuitton reopens a flagship in Tokyo. Barely a year has passed since we showed you the wonderful building that the brand had designed in the city, and now we have to show you another construction by the iconic French firm. This new store is also located in the capital of Japan. Specifically on the same site where he opened his first store in the country, the Ginza district.
In 1981, Louis Vuitton decided to open what would be his first store in Japan. He did it in Ginza, one of the most commercial areas of the city. The old building that we see in the Google images was still a functional building, with a gray rectangular pattern from which some windows, storefronts and the main door emerged. Nothing to do with the Osaka sailboat, or with the other spectacular property that the brand opened, also in Ginza.
The spectacular new Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo
So LVMH had to do something about it. But with the property existing and being part of a success story for the firm, few imagined that the company was going to demolish the building to build a new one. In 2017 it began to be dismantled little by little. This gradually gave way to the new creation that was inaugurated on March 20 with great pomp, as befits the event.
As it is fashionable, we can say it: «The Ginza Louis Vuitton, was reborn from its ashes, like a Phoenix». For the last three years it has been growing, partly hidden under an opaque cloth, waiting for it to see the light… And it did! The new building is seven storeys high, where the first four are open to the public. Of course, with everything the brand can offer: leather collections, ready-to-wear for men and women, perfumes, jewellery, accessories and watches.
The Louis Vuitton water column
The architects of the building have been from the “house”. On the one hand, Jun Aoki, who has the great fortune of having worked in the Sigueru Ban studio. He has been collaborating with Louis Vuitton for more than ten years and has been in charge of executing the architectural part of the firm’s Asian buildings. On the other hand, the fireproof Peter Marino. It is one of the regulars in LVMH buildings, as well as for other luxury brands. Both divided the work: Aoki the building and Marino the interior design.
The facade simulates a spectacular column of water, which is visualized by placing corrugated glass panels in two layers, with a texture that mimics the tone of seawater. This texture is achieved by adhering dichroic sheets to the crystals, sheets that stick to the glass like a second skin, causing the tones to change depending on the point of view and the light that reaches the glass. These sheets are wonderful, and can change the look of a facade in a second.
Water, the new element of LV
Water thus becomes the main “theme” of the flagship. In fact, it also evokes its presence inside the mansion, especially in the quintessential link between the different horizontal planes: the staircase. The central staircase is executed with carved oak. Without right angles, it rises with elegance and transparency. It has a glass railing and walls in light colors and sinuous figures, as if it were at the bottom of the sea… (no words).
Of course, the store sports furniture with international design by Pierre Paulin or Stefan Leo. And with a reinterpretation of a painting by Kimiko Fujimura, four stories high!! Ceramic, stone or wooden floors, designer lamps, too, among which you can see some enormous jellyfish… The art guarantees that the visitor leaves more than satisfied, making the experience of entering the store a pleasure for the senses, even if you are not a regular of the brand.
The most special spaces
However, you haven’t read the best yet: on the upper floors there are private rooms for VIP clients… And at the top, the second collaboration between the Maison and chef Yosuke Suga: another ‘le café LV’. In it, Louis Vuitton is scheduled to debut its first chocolates at the end of April.
If you’re not a fan of chocolate, and don’t feel like shopping for an exclusive piece like pearl-embellished LV Ollie sneakers for men, you can at least enjoy the exquisite architecture of Aoki and Marino. A tall award.