Pop Up Love with Louis Vuitton and Murakami
By Jo Phillips
It may be grey skies in London right now but a trip to Soho will bring a colourful brightness with the opening of a pop-up store in London’s Soho from Louis Vuitton and celebrated Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami.
Twenty years after the monumental coupling of Louis Vuitton and celebrated Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, the House is launching a global re-edition of the collection in a new imagining of over 200 pieces.
To mark this iconic occasion, the Louis Vuitton x Murakami collection is presented as a pop-up in Soho, London, between 9th January and 9th February 2025. Curated over two floors, the space becomes a showcase of the playful roots of the collection, evoking a sense of theatre with black and pink colour-blocked floors inspired by the world-famous Tokyo modular hotels.
The pop-up is a festival of colour and experiences that fully embody the Louis Vuitton x Murakami world: In the archival module, highlights from the Eye Love Monogram and Monogram Multicore 2003 will be showcased in flower-style casing on the walls with the 2003 Monogram Dalmatien, 2005 Monogram Cerise, 2007 Monogram Superflat hand, and 2010 Monogram Multicore also on display as part of an original, site-specific exhibition of the most iconic objects. At the care station, clients can watch as their own pieces from the original collection receive care and repair from a carefully designed repair menu.
A hybrid of retail and immersive design, the conceptual space reveals the full Louis Vuitton x Murakami product offering and will host an archival module boasting pieces from the original collections, a vending machine with special, collectable gifts, a café, as well as a ‘care and repair’ station.
The original, seminal collection under creative director Marc Jacobs was feted as an unprecedented marriage of art and fashion and the creation of this re-edition pays homage to the joy and originality demonstrated in the shared enthusiasm for colourful aesthetics, creativity and innovation.
As one of the most revered contemporary artists in the world, Murakami’s practice draws on contemporary Japanese culture in a defining style that encompasses vivid colour and ‘Superflat’ renderings using smooth surfaces and two-dimensional patterns. The Louis Vuitton x Murakami collection transforms the luminous world of Takashi Murakami into a dazzling range across some of the Maison’s most emblematic bags and leather accessories. In addition, Monogram Multicolore decorates the stunning rolling trunk while the Superflat Panda appears across trainers, keyrings and a skateboard.
Vending Dreams
Following a purchase from the collection, clients receive bright, Murakami-designed tokens that can be used at unique vending machines where prizes include the Takashi Murakami Flower Go Walk portable game, exclusive limited-edition LV x Murakami stickers, and LV x Murakami trading cards that can be collected or traded. Two renowned original Superflat movies, digitally enhanced for 2025, can be viewed in a designated film space where clients can lounge on Murakami flower cushions.
The Café
Encased in a dedicated sphere module, the Louis Vuitton x Murakami Café will be the only one of its kind in Europe, offering delicate baked goods and drinks in specially printed cups and napkins with exclusive Louis Vuitton x Murakami designs.
Soho is a historic hub for subversive creativity and this temporary Louis Vuitton x Murakami universe adds to that legacy with a spellbinding experience of kaleidoscopic colour and artistry that cements a historic partnership between Louis Vuitton and Murakami; a collaboration that transformed the nature of how art and fashion merge and has endured as a pillar of innovation and delight.
LOUIS VUITTON x MURAKAMI 9th January – 9th February 2025 39 Brewer Street London, W1F 9UD 11am – 7pm Louis Vuitton.com