Louis Vuitton is staging two major moments in Los Angeles next month.
The first will be the opening of its latest dedicated men’s store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills on July 14.
The store at 420 North Rodeo will open with the entire men’s fall 2022 collection by the late Virgil Abloh, as well as the Objets Nomades collection, Tambour watches, Louis Vuittonbooks, hard-sided trunks and more.
The store’s interior will feature a “Giant Man” sculpture from Abloh, special works of art and vintage furnishings, and the brand’s trademark Epi leather paneling on the walls.
Upstairs VIP rooms will have specially commissioned murals by Alex Proba with midcentury motifs and a desert-inspired palette.
Special travel pieces such as the Courier Lozine, Cotteville and Coffret NBA set, the Wavy set and the Climbing set will also be on offer, along with on-site personalization and a full fragrance counter.
Beverly Hills is the eighth freestanding men’s store in the country, and the first in California.
The second moment will be the “200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries” exhibition running from July 29 through Sept. 6, in the previous LVX space on Rodeo Drive.
The exhibition was organized in 2021 to celebrate 200 years of brand founder Louis Vuitton, inviting 200 visionaries to use the iconic trunk as a blank canvas. The wide range of participants include DJ and Kenzo fashion designer Nigo, L.A. artist Alex Israel, astronaut-in-training Alyssa Carson, skateboarder Beatrice Domond, feminist Gloria Steinem, L.A.-based creative director and interior designer Willo Perron and architect Frank Gehry. Some trunks are digital (but imposed on a physical trunk) while others are physical trunks.
L.A. will be the only U.S. stop for the exhibition. At the end of the year, the 200 trunks will be auctioned off through Sotheby’s with proceeds benefiting charity. Louis Vuitton pledged to donate 10,000 euros in the name of and on behalf of each visionary to one of 15 nonprofits, for a total donation of 2 million euros.