Lhen the news broke, in December 2024, social networks went up in flames, fashionistas fainted, museum curators looked with concern at what budget they had left to acquire a piece of what was undoubtedly going to become collector’s item before even existing, and pre-orders flocked to the dedicated site: twenty years after their first love, Louis Vuitton reconnected with the artist Takashi Murakami for a collection of nearly 200 objects, ranging from handbags to trunks including headbands, caps and other necessarily cute variations, from the grigri to the coffee cup…
Products that say more than themselves: they are the pinnacle of the marriage of Art and luxury as well as the collaborative mode that the big names in the sector favor to establish themselves as cultural brands. And, by this yardstick, the first edition of this collaboration remains the original matrix.
Hence a fanfare release of this new opus, orchestrated like a Hollywood blockbuster expressing the brand’s desire to create events. A dynamic that fully participates in the strategy of the world number one luxury company, led by Pietro Beccari. It’s up to him to make the label ever more desirable: he tells us why and how he intends to go about it.
The Point: Why relaunch a collaboration with Takashi Murakami, twenty years later?
Pietro Beccari: It’s a question of encounters and memories. I was at Louis Vuitton in 2003, but in a different position. As part of this first collaboration, I worked with Takashi Murakami. Recently, he came back to me and offered to exhibit a sculpture playing with our codes for his retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kyoto. I immediately said yes. And the conversation started again… This statue is today in Paris, in front of the Vuitton Foundation. And we started a new collaboration, ranging from key rings to trunks, more than 200 objects…
It’s a way of returning to basics that also taps into the younger generations’ appetite for vintage…
Absolutely. Beyond the birthday, the youngest, who did not know this era, begin to be interested in these products. It’s fascinating to see how these pieces have become true collector’s items, increasing in value over time.
How does this offer fit into Louis Vuitton’s overall strategy?
From our first steps as packers in the 19th centurye century, our history has rhymed with invention and a spirit of adventure. Louis Vuitton is about travel, the desire to discover other things and therefore, in a certain way, to surpass oneself, to go further. There is optimism in this promise. And it all comes together with exceptional know-how.
This working base is so powerful, so strong that it allows boldness, even requires it. Remember the centenary of the Monogram in 1996: we asked designers like Azzedine Alaïa to interpret this icon of the house in their own way – an experience that we repeated a few years later with Rei Kawabuko or Cindy Sherman. This ability to seize our codes – and play with them – sets us apart. And, in this series of meetings, there is always a lot of joy and surprises: this is what perpetuates the desirability of our products.
This new collaboration with Murakami is part of this story and brings a little happiness to a world that needs it. Our job is not to play politics or save lives: we do fashion. Our products don’t change people’s lives, but they can help them live better.
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It’s a strategy that adapts to each media, from social networks like TikTok and Instagram, to the campaign itself, which will be a mix of real and cartoon, including Zendaya and in-store activations in order to create real immersive experiences with our customers.
Even before its launch, from mid-December, more than 30% of the collection was reserved – we even had some major clients who acquired it in its entirety, from the card holder to the trunk… Our concern is therefore to ensure that the products are not sold out before arriving in stores.
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I remember 2009, 2016, the pandemic: after each crisis, there is a return to a form of normality. People want to consume and have fun. It is our role to bring this lightness, even in difficult times. I also remember when, during the pandemic, everyone said it was the end of parades. I have always said the opposite: it is necessary for a luxury brand to create emotion, to tell stories.
We are already a cultural brand and want to continue to be, whether through our foundation, collaborations like this, events that leave an imprint on the urban landscape, from Pharrell Williams’ first show on the Pont- Nine to these giant trunks which, like in New York or Paris, cover entire buildings being renovated, or even a campaign where we bring together Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It is these moments of surprise and astonishment that make our house unique.
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Answer
Beyond the vicissitudes, how would you define your ambition for Vuitton?
Continue to build for the long term by building a brand that endures through generations. We must ensure that each customer, whether they buy a trunk, a key ring or a square, has the same luxury experience: in this ability to speak to everyone, we are also a universal brand.
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