Louis Vuitton lands in Shangai presenting “The Louis”, an immersive space combining Luxury, Dining and Culture.
Louis Vuitton announces the arrival of a major new space in Shanghai that combines retail, Le Café Louis Vuitton and a Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys exhibition within the façade of a boat. As a contemporary tribute to the origins of travel, “The Louis” draws inspiration from Louis Vuitton’s 19th-century history of crafting trunks for transoceanic voyages while reflecting Shanghai’s port culture as the “Gateway to the East.”
Situated on Wujiang Road in the city’s central business district, this exceptional structure stands out amidst surrounding buildings – from the elegant prow and hull embellished with a metallic Monogram, to the deck and the stacked upper levels resembling historic trunks. Beyond its striking appearance, “The Louis” welcomes visitors to discover how the House continues to build upon its experiential universe. Where the Café proposes a menu that is at once casual and luxurious, the Visionary Journeys exhibition guides visitors on a voyage inspired by the savoir-faire of the House that connects past and future, culture and imagination.
Shanghai, a Prosperous Port through Time
“The Louis” is anchored in Shanghai with its rich maritime legacy, while aligning with Louis Vuitton’s own trajectory of travel. As early as the Sui and Tang dynasties, from the 6th century onwards, trade ports like Huating Port and Qinglong Port formed Shanghai’s earliest port landscape with the Wusong River as the main boating route. Since its opening as a treaty port in 1843, Shanghai rapidly emerged as one of China’s earliest and most prosperous international boating and trade hubs. By the late 19th century, the banks of the Huangpu River witnessed the simultaneous rise of China’s urbanisation and globalisation. As of the 1930s, the establishment of transoceanic routes solidified its status as one of the world’s great port cities.
Founded in the mid-19th century during the steam era, Louis Vuitton now evokes this heritage with the reconstruction of a “mythical vessel” on the banks of the Huangpu River, inviting every visitor to delve into the many dimensions of travel. In this way, the unveiling of “The Louis” in Shanghai creates a spiritual echo across centuries, linking the historical port with a contemporary cultural space.
Where Vision Meets Experience
The boat-like structure responds to Shanghai’s ethos of “embracing all rivers” and its innovative, cosmopolitan identity. Reaffirming Louis Vuitton’s role as a House of Culture, this concept transforms retail into a cultural interface, a vessel for urban spirit, and a platform for public dialogue. It stands as both a landmark for future travelers and a connection to local culture.
Inside an Extraordinary Design
The House’s archives reveal trunks specially designed for sea voyages. The zinc-coated trunk displayed by Louis Vuitton in Le Havre in 1868 for the International Maritime Exposition addressed issues like humidity and heat during ocean transport. In 1934, several modern architects, including René Herbst, were commissioned to design “modern” ocean liner cabins. On this occasion, they used Louis Vuitton’s trunks, reflecting the House’s ties with the Union of Modern Artists (UAM). With “The Louis” the façade is at once that of a life-size ship and a surreal configuration of gigantic, stacked trunks.
For visitors, an exterior terrace with outdoor seating conveys an elevated seaside ambiance. Located on the third floor, Le Café Louis Vuitton can accommodate attendants between the bar, casual seating and table arrangements. Subtle allusions to bygone ocean liners are expressed through the refined dining room area, where soft lighting enhances the warm wood surfaces and art books line the shelves.
The scenography of the exhibition space, designed by Shohei Shigematsu-OMA, begins on the first floor and continues through to the second floor, which leads to the gift store and onward to the retail, where visitors will find a selection of Women’s and Men’s wear leather goods, small leather goods, accessories, shoes, and travel items. With the hot stamping revamp, clients can personalize their items with Shanghai city, boat, and lifestyle city stamps, creating a memorable keepsake of their experience.
A Journey through Taste at Le Café Louis Vuitton
As Louis Vuitton Hospitality expands its offering of unique culinary concepts around the world, Le Café Louis Vuitton in Shanghai showcases the best of East-meet-West, the “Shanghai style” that recognises the convergence of European and Chinese influences. Chefs Leonardo Zambrino and Pastry Chef Zoe Zhou, the talents behind the newest Le Café Louis Vuitton, enrich the Louis Vuitton Culinary Community with their expertise, presenting a balanced menu of both savoury and sweet selections.
Their creations, born from mentorship under renowned chefs Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric and their formative experiences in Paris and St Tropez, reflect the House signatures through innovative culinary expressions. The menu features an array of dishes that are familiar to other locations and unique to this opening. Among the standouts are the iconic “Monogram Raviolis” crafted as Jiaozis and the “Cesar Salad Eclipse” paired with a twisted Shanghai Yuja Dressing. Certain dishes such as the “5th Avenue lobster roll”; the “Club Pont Neuf”; along with the Chocolate, Hazelnut and Vanilla entremets that have become signatures at other Louis Vuitton Cafés, travelled here for an extraordinary journey through taste.
Culture dishes exemplify and interpret the finest of Shanghai cuisine including the “Louis Hao”, a seabream carpaccio highlighted with a bergamot sabayon and garden vegetables, a ‘Mandarin Croque” of duck leg confit with summer cabbage, and even “The Hall treasure”, Chef Zambrino’s signature dish from Michelin star Louis Vuitton The Hall restaurant in Chengdu. To end the meal on a sweet note, a selection of indulgent desserts such as Peach Charlotte with jasmine tea and a Pavlova of exotic fruits come with a delicate Louis Vuitton flourish.
The Exhibition: Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys
With Visionary Journeys, Louis Vuitton debuts its latest in-depth exhibition that explores the House’s multifaceted heritage through foundational themes such as travel, craftsmanship, fashion, and innovation. Amidst a vast scenographic design conceived by Shohei Shigematsu-OMA, the experience unfolds as a journey across time and creativity where icons of the past and present merge through immersive visual storytelling.
Presented across two floors within the vast hull shape of “The Louis”. The exhibition proposes a sequence of thematic rooms where visitors can rediscover the forward momentum of Louis Vuitton from its beginnings through the present day.
Just beyond the entrance, the Visionary Journeys exhibition reveals its signature installation, the Trunkscape, designed by Shohei Shigematsu -OMA. Previously featured at LV the Place Bangkok, and Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, this immersive structure plays out as an otherworldly archway composed of Monogram canvas trunks that highlight the ingenuity and craftsmanship of the seminal piece. Seemingly hovering within an ever-changing backdrop of nature scenes, the Trunkscape transports viewers through a captivating portal into the exhibition.
From Asnières to the Sea
The exhibition opens with a dual timeline tracing the origins of Louis Vuitton. One path follows the House’s roots in Asnières, where the original workshop – established in 1859 along the Seine – became a cradle of craftsmanship and family legacy. The second voyage charts Louis Vuitton’s deep connection with the maritime world, from trunks designed for transatlantic travel to its role in historic regattas such as the Louis Vuitton Cup. Together, these timelines express a vision propelled by craft and the call of distant horizons.
After passing through the Trunkscape, visitors then enter Origins, a room dedicated to heritage pieces reimagined through an innovative lens, celebrating trunks and leathergoods at the heart of the Art of Travel. From the revolutionary Gris Trianon canvas to Monogram-emblazoned trunks tailored for couture wardrobes, the House’s design legacy is anchored in functionality and flair. With each evolution – including steamer bags, vanity cases – Louis Vuitton anticipated new modes of mobility.
The Spirit of Voyage
A room titled Voyage explores the poetic, personal, and playful dimensions of travel historic patents, whimsical bag shapes, and archival advertisements conjure a House where every journey is a story and every piece, a companion. Legendary travellers and intellectuals appear alongside icons like the Keepall and the Neverfull, transformed by customization.
Olfactive Exploration
The Perfume room recalls how beauty has always travelled with the House. From Toiletry kit in crocodile and crystal to the elegant revival of scent in 2016 by Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier- Belletrud, Louis Vuitton’s fragrances express memory, place, and emotion. Historic flacons and the modern Malle Découverte are displayed as vessels of both scent and imagination. The olfactive essence is key to the House heritage, illustrated by the first Louis Vuitton perfume flacons “Heures d’absence” imagined in 1927.
Books and Bibliophilia
In Books, visitors encounter the literary lineage of the Vuitton family. A rare collection of writings, sketches, and travel lectures by Gaston-Louis Vuitton sets the tone for a narrative where trunks become libraries and reading is a form of voyage. Renowned writer Ernest Hemingway owned a custom Louis Vuitton Library Trunk and was a valued client of the House. A tribute to him appears through a copy of A Moveable Feast, referencing the story at the book’s opening, where a lost manuscript is said to have been found inside a Louis Vuitton trunk.
The Art of Sport
Sport pays tribute to Louis Vuitton’s longstanding affinity for motion and competition spanning trophy trunks made in Asnières for Formula 1®, FIFA, and the Olympics among others. Archival cases for ski gear, racquets, and even roadsters frame the House’s embrace of both performance and lifestyle.
Fashion in Motion
The Fashion & Leathergoods section outlines a process of creative reinvention. Iconic bags such as Alma, Speedy, Noé, Keepall, Petite Malle have evolved under the artistic leadership of the House’s successive Artistic and Creative Directors Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquière, Kim Jones, Virgil Abloh, and Pharrell Williams – all reflecting the convergence of heritage and singular design vision.
Inside the Workshop
Finally, Workshop and Testing spaces pull back the curtain on how every Louis Vuitton piece is made to last. From the atelier in Asnières to specialist sites across France and beyond, precision and passion are at the heart of production. Instruments affectionately named Louise and Louisette ensure each bag meets exacting standards – proof that durability is a hallmark of elegance. Motifs and elements from Asnières create an authentic workshop and lab to host live demonstrations by artisans and instruments, highlighting the timeless craftsmanship and the “making of” the Louis Vuitton savoir-faire.
The Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys exhibition in Shanghai invites visitors to experience the historical wonders of Louis Vuitton, where every trunk, fragrance, sketch, and stitch reflects an enduring love of craft and discovery.
The Louis
HKRI Taikoo Hui, No. 789 West Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China
© Louis Vuitton Malletier
Credits: © Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
