Unveiling Louis Vuitton 57th Street NYC, a New Cornerstone of Retail, Culture and Gastronomy
Ahead of a multi-year renovation of the Louis Vuitton 5th Avenue flagship in New York City, the House is pleased to announce the ambitious and expansive temporary store opening of Louis Vuitton at 6 E. 57th Street NYC that will feature the American debut of a Louis Vuitton café, chocolate shop, new global culinary concept and an exclusive capsule collection of keepsakes. Opening on November 15th and becoming the largest Louis Vuitton space in the United States, its intention extends beyond retail, encompassing the House of Culture that the brand stands for today.
Louis Vuitton & New York City: linked through time
For more than a century, since the House began selling products in the U.S. from 1898 onwards, Louis Vuitton has forged an incomparable connection to New York, where French art de vivre has been endlessly interpreted with a local influence. The 1980 opening of the first independent store in New York City, on 57th street, established the brand as a preeminent shopping destination.
Driven by the city’s vibrant energy, the House proposes a store experience that welcomes clients to discover how the broader world of Louis Vuitton embraces this dynamic exchange through time.
Five floors to discover
From its northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, Louis Vuitton will temporarily relocate to 6 East 57th Street. In such close proximity, this landmark, Art Deco-inspired building has a rich retail history, and stands out for the vast window plan that arches across its brick facade.
While the exterior architecture and interior floorplan remain unchanged, the renewed store experience is marked by a monumental installation. The entry space opens into a soaring atrium that is heightened by a composition of freestanding sculptures developed with OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu, a New York-based partner of the renowned architectural firm who was responsible for an immersive exhibition around the brand’s history in Bangkok earlier this year.
Like a surreal convergence of the House’s trunk-making heritage with the New York skyline, four towers composed of iconic Courrier Lozine 90 trunks ascend 16 meters towards the ceiling. The trunks are stacked to erect shifting, counterbalancing, twisting
and zigzagging forms showcasing strength and lightness. Each is further distinguished by using different Louis Vuitton materials – historic stripes, classic Monogram canvas, white Damier, and a metallic Monogram – which have redefined the timeless piece from the past to today.
The rear of the atrium offers another striking visual installation: mirrored bags are stacked like bricks to build an 18-meter-high vertical wall, transforming a basic element of architecture into a dynamic sculpture reflecting the store and activities within.
Rows alternate between the Keepall and the smaller Speedy, creating an undulating and rhythmic effect as the wall extends up to the fifth floor. This staging is flanked by oversized photo murals of patterns developed by Louis Vuitton’s collaborators – Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama, Supreme, Takashi Murakami, and Stephen Sprouse –reflecting the constant reinvention of symbolic iconographies against contemporary contexts.
A coherent design scheme introduces a streamlined warmth to the existing raw interior. The Louis Vuitton universes occupy four of the five floors, always providing a view into the atrium. Exposed concrete and wood floors alternate with plush carpets, while the spaces are softly illuminated and configured according to an open flow. Furniture from the previous location reappears throughout the store in keeping with the House’s commitment to circular creativity. New pieces reflect a careful curation of collectible vintage and contemporary furniture from the likes of Carlo Mollino, Charlotte Perriand, Christophe Delcourt and Pierre Augustin Rose, while the works of American and NYC-based artists such as Todd Eberle, Chris Martin and Caio Fonseca feature throughout the store.
The first floor is dedicated to leather goods, ranging from an expansive selection of bags and lifestyle items to a new travel room that highlights the DNA of the House with a personalization artisan on hand. The women’s universe wraps around the perimeter of the second floor while the men’s universe occupies the third. The fifth floor is divided between private retail lounge spaces consisting of three intimate salons, along with an area for the Objets Nomades and the Art de la Table collections. Unique to this floor is a secret room in the style of a loft that is accessible from one the salons.
Here, the main focus will be Louis Vuitton high watches and jewelry.
A destination for food and culture
Open throughout store hours, the fourth floor is where clients will find the House’s combined cultural and culinary vision as an exciting experience unique to New York City.
Le Café Louis Vuitton, a café cum library space, is conceived as a lively destination for visitors to feel surrounded by and immersed in an atmosphere of cultural inspiration.
Upon arriving to the reception, guests are accompanied to the main room, which comprises the principal restaurant, a reading alcove with sofa seating, and a bar for a total of 70 seats.
Exuding French design and a local loft ambiance, the space is animated with wall-to-wall books that provide a cozy, even whimsical backdrop for traveling the world via art, architecture, fashion and cuisine. Books, always integrated into any Louis Vuitton environment, will have an enlarged presence here and the shelves have been designed to emphasize the display while encouraging leisurely browsing.
Editor and curator Ian Luna has overseen the library, privileging New York artists as an overarching theme – including collaborators such as Stephen Sprouse and Jeff Koons. Yet the list is also expansive; a modern classic from Rem Koolhaas sharing the shelf with books from creators. Along with these 600-650 titles, guests will be able to enjoy books from the Louis Vuitton Editions, as the House continues to grow its catalogue through various series around travel, style, and the living heritage of Louis Vuitton.
Luxury snacking at Le Café Louis Vuitton
Amidst this enlightening yet relaxed atmosphere, Le Café Louis Vuitton comes to life as a next step in a culinary journey with French chefs Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric, the celebrated duo who have been steadily strengthening their relationship with Louis Vuitton since the opening of the restaurant Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton in Saint-Tropez. The chefs now find themselves launching a new culinary concept and community for the House.
For New York, they have developed a new dining approach with young local talents Christophe Bellanca and Mary George at the helm of Le Café Louis Vuitton.
The concept is based around luxury snacking – familiar, generously portioned dishes reinvented with equal parts fun and refinement, an exchange of French flare and local touch. Drawing from global influences, the menu showcases bespoke creations: a lobster or truffle raviolis embossed with the flower Monogram and Damier tartlets filled with fresh, seasonal ingredients. The Croque sandwiches that proved a sensation in Paris will make their transatlantic debut. Of course, the burger, an international favourite, will get the LV treatment.
A new culinary community takes shape
Beyond the House’s existing dining concepts signed by globally renowned chefs, the New York café opening with Christophe Bellanca and Mary George sets the stage for a new Louis Vuitton culinary community in which local chefs will thrive under ongoing guidance and mentorship from Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric.
This inspiring model aims to propel the vision and talent of young rising stars, including chef’s such as Leonardo Zambrino of The Hall by Louis Vuitton – the House’s restaurant in Chengdu, China– who was recently awarded a Michelin Star in September, 2024.
Thriving on diverse ideas and local flavours, each new café team will bring their unique perspective while harnessing the savoir faire and codes at the heart of Louis Vuitton.
The arrival of Louis Vuitton chocolates
Fine chocolate has become another expression of the Louis Vuitton savoir faire.
Following its success in Paris, Singapore and Shanghai, Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton opens its first US location and presents a range of signature bars and specialties handcrafted by the renowned chef pâtissier and his team in their Paris kitchens.
A native of Normandy and the grandson of a dairy farmer, Maxime Frédéric is discerning about all raw materials, drawing upon the wisdom of “Les secrets de nos vergers” (the secrets of the orchards). On his Normandy farm, he cultivates various breeds of chickens that yield eggs of distinct colors, while a close friend in Montflanquin grows a special type of hazelnut which is smaller in size and produces a more intense flavor; both ingredients are used in various of Maxime’s creations.
Other ingredients are sourced further afield from the finest of sources, including cocoa beans from small-scale cocoa farmers in Vietnam, Peru, Madagascar, Dominican Republic and São Tome, each location offering a subtly specific aroma.
Inspired by House Codes, Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton displays an array of sweet treats for all tastes, ranging from classic chocolate bars, gift sets and hazelnut bonbons, to more creative displays of chocolate-making prowess, such as the Vivienne on a Malle (trunk) – a music box inspired centrepiece which when set in motion with a simple twist of a chocolate key, sees the Maison’s mascotte pirouettes atop a Louis Vuitton trunk.
A collectible capsule collection
To mark the opening of Louis Vuitton 57th Street NYC, a capsule collection spanning men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, leathergoods, accessories and gifting will be released as a tribute to the style of New York City. Collector bags include the newly launched Neverfull Inside Out in taxi yellow, the Speedy Soft with yellow lining and playful tags, the Capucines paneled with the city’s skyscrapers, and the GO14 in shimmery light gold. Vivienne returns as a New York State of mind collectible figurine, as well as appearing on small leather goods, a silk bandeau and other items that are perfect for gifting. Within the men’s capsule, we rediscover the codes of the SS25 precollection, itself inspired by the iconography of NYC life. The city’s iconic license plate is downsized to a bag charm that adorns Avenue Slingbag and Keepall, or as a hot stamping on the Slender wallet, all three in the Monogram Héritage line in the yellow colorway. On the plate one can read “LV since 1854”, a playful nod to the founding date of the Maison.
Between the store’s engaging spaces and the whimsical world within the cafe, Louis Vuitton 57th Street NYC is a temporary store that aspires to leave a lasting impression for New Yorkers and travelers alike.
Address:
Louis Vuitton 57th Street NYC
6 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022, USA
Credits: © Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
