{"id":264658,"date":"2025-10-06T09:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T13:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=canvasflow&p=264658"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:29:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:29:58","slug":"oma-new-york-louis-vuitton-exhibit-osaka-japan","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/oma-new-york-louis-vuitton-exhibit-osaka-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"OMA New York Honors Louis Vuitton’s Storied History In Osaka Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"A
LV collections by Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, and Supreme were celebrated in \u201cCollaborations,\u201d a kaleidoscope of four interlocking domes covered with 1,467 mirrored facets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

October 6, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Dan Howarth<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Souteyrat<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

OMA New York Honors Louis Vuitton’s Storied History In Osaka Exhibit<\/h1>\n\n\n

Fashion exhibitions have proven to be blockbuster hits for museums the world over. This is largely thanks to the annual summer show held by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York\u2014and the media frenzy surrounding the gala that precedes it. The yearly event has ignited widespread public interest in blue-chip designer clothing and lifestyle products, which, until relatively recently, were viewed as elitist and unattainable for many.  Naturally, luxury brands have taken note of this newfound sense of accessibility and created their own exhibitions to spellbind global consumers even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of what captivates audiences at these shows comes down to dazzling scenography\u2014an art mastered by Shohei Shigematsu, partner at OMA<\/a> and director of OMA New York, who designed the Met\u2019s \u201cManus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology\u201d in 2016. Since then, the Japanese architect has collaborated with several houses on elaborate environments that present apparel and accessories, trace institutional histories, and build narrative identities. \u201cFashion always has a kind of familiarity, but also a certain distance from the normal world,\u201d Shigematsu observes. \u201cBy using the space, the garments, and the content of the exhibition itself, we can create an immersive experience and tell the story of the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience Immersive Environments in ‘Louis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys’<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Handwoven bamboo walls encased \u201cOrigins,\u201d one of 12 named environments comprising \u201cLouis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys,\u201d a summer exhibition at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, by OMA New York that observed the luxury goods and apparel company\u2019s 170th anniversary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The architect\u2019s latest exhibition, \u201cLouis Vuitton: Visionary Journeys,\u201d at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, last July through September, marked the 170th anniversary of the luxury goods and apparel company\u2019s founding while continuing a partnership with the house that began in 2023 and includes a previous exhibition in Bangkok. Initially, Shigematsu used the dimensions of Vuitton\u2019s signature trunk to create a bricklike module that can be stacked, tessellated, or assembled into sculptural forms. \u201cThe brand\u2019s identity, innovation, and history are all crystallized in this single object,\u201d he explains. Rendered in monogrammed washi paper over a wood frame and lit from within, the modules formed eight dramatically elongated lanterns suspended in the five-story atrium of Katsuhiko Endo\u2019s building, welcoming museum\u00adgoers. Real trunks, however, appeared at the entrance to the exhibition galleries, where 138 of them formed a geodesic dome\u2014a nod to the hemispheres long used at world fairs as symbols of the future, and a gesture echoed by OMA in the French pavilion at the concurrent Expo 2025 Osaka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After passing beneath the dome, guests embarked on the titular journey: a winding sequence of 11 galleries\u2014architecturally unique spaces named for themes and places central to Vuitton\u2019s legacy\u2014offering a surprise at every turn. \u201cA lot of people appreciate the non-museumlike experience,\u201d Shigematsu says of the environments, most of which were fabricated and tested near Tokyo before being shipped to the museum for reassembly. The result, he hopes, appealed to both mind and senses: \u201cThere was a lot of written text for each object,\u201d he acknowledges, \u201cbut each room had an atmosphere that presented the intangible part of architecture, where people could feel the theme or story almost instantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
LV collections by Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, and Supreme were celebrated in \u201cCollaborations,\u201d a kaleidoscope of four interlocking domes covered with 1,467 mirrored facets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first gallery, a spacious, mint-green antechamber dubbed \u201cAsni\u00e8res,\u201d featured a faithful replica of an art nouveau stained-glass window from the Vuitton family home, now a museum in the eponymous town, where the artisanal workshop still operates today. The following room, \u201cOrigins,\u201d was wrapped in a flowing, basketlike ar\u00admature of handwoven bamboo, its undulating form defining six deep bays, each brimming with photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia from an era in the company\u2019s history. This represented only a fraction of the 1,000-plus objects that fashion historian Florence M\u00fcller curated for the 19,400-square-foot exhibition. About 200 of them related specifically to Japan\u2014a theme subtly suggested by the bamboo latticework but fully explored in a subsequent gallery, \u201cLouis Vuitton and Japan,\u201d where the interplay between the European house and Japanese culture took center stage. A selection of historic and contemporary garments, artworks, and objects was displayed on floating modular platforms that evoked tatami mats, as did the grid of light boxes suspended overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No surprise, then, that two native talents, Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami, were prominent among the design partnerships celebrated in \u201cCollaborations\u201d\u2014a kaleidoscopic space of interlocking domes lined with mirrored facets that reflected both the garment-bedecked mannequins and the visitors who, Shigematsu suggests, \u201cbecame part of the exhibition,\u201d bringing the journey to a dazzling conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nakanoshima Museum of Art Transforms Into A Fashion Wonderland<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Modular platforms and overhead light boxes recalling traditional tatami mats provided a cross-cultural environment for \u201cLouis Vuitton and Japan,\u201d which explored the interplay between the brand and the nation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not that France had been forgotten along the way: \u201cWorkshop\u201d reproduced elements from the Asni\u00e8res atelier where Vuitton trunks are made\u2014green-painted steelwork, a sawtooth roofline, wall-mounted tools\u2014along with hefty solid-beech workbenches where artisans gave live demonstrations of their craft. And \u201cAtelier Rarex\u201d reinterpreted the mansard roof of Maison Vend\u00f4me, the company\u2019s Paris flagship, transforming its two tiers of windows into 20 stainless-steel display niches, each containing an haute-couture creation. Mirror-clad end walls expanded the installation, turning it into an infinite Haussmannian roofscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By offering immersive (and photogenic) spaces such as these for the public to enjoy, the fashion exhibition shows no sign of waning. Wherever \u201cVisionary Journeys\u201d travels next, it will continue to transport visitors into new worlds of thematic exploration, each tailored to its context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OMA New York Explores Louis Vuitton’s Unique Creations In This Exhibition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A self-supporting geodesic dome made from 138 trunks marked the exhibition entry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Inspired by the mansard roof of Vuitton\u2019s Paris flagship, \u201cAtelier Rarex\u201d displayed couture garments in windowlike niches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Artisans gave live demonstrations at solid-beech benches in \u201cWorkshop,\u201d which recreated elements of the handcraft atelier in Asni\u00e8res, France.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Rugged travel artifacts got an igloolike setting in \u201cExpeditions,\u201d an inflatable dome inspired by hot-air balloons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dive Into Each Specialized Environment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Arrayed on a snaking platform, 40 artifacts formed a timeline that traced the evolution of the famous pattern through many iterations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"A
Towering lanterns made of LV-monogrammed washi paper hung in the museum\u2019s five-story atrium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"A
Stainless steel lined the niches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"A
A zinc trunk and historic client records populated one of the dome\u2019s 14 display modules.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"A
In \u201cMonogram Canvas,\u201d a cylindrical vitrine housed the original 1897 patented swatch for the brand\u2019s signature fabric.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM\u00a0<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

OMA NEW YORK: <\/strong>JESSE CATALANO; NICCOLO BALDI; XAVIER FOX; BLAKE KEM; FRANCESCA PARMIG\u00adGIANI. NPU CORPORATION:<\/strong> EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION. FLORENCE M\u00dcLLER:<\/strong> ART CONSULTANT. SPECIAL OFFER:<\/strong> GRAPHICS CONSULTANT. TOKYO HEART-S:<\/strong> LIGHTING CONSULTANT. TSUMURA KOGEI:<\/strong> GENERAL CONTRACTOR.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n