A Glimpse into the Louis Vuitton Exhibition in New York City
“200 trunks, 200 visionaries”
by STELLA RINGBLOM ★ NOVEMBER 29, 2022
As some may know, Louis Vuitton brought their "200 trunks, 200 visionaries: The Exhibition" to New York City on October 14th. As revealed by the title, the exhibition comprises 200 trunks designed by different artists. According to Louis Vuitton, "The LOUIS 200 project invited a mosaic of talents and friends spanning arts and culture, the sciences, sports, global causes, and more to personalize a metaphorical blank canvas measuring approximately the same dimensions as the original trunk that Louis conceived in the 1850s. Among the 200 extraordinary transformations, talents including Willo Perron, Francesca Sorrenti, Refik Anadol, and Franky Zapata were exclusively showcased in NY."
The exhibition made its debut in Asinéres at the Louis Vuitton family house. Since then, it moved from Singapore to Los Angeles, and now it's arrived in its fourth designation, NYC. The exhibit occupies the landmark Barneys New York building on Madison Avenue.
During my Thanksgiving break, my best friend, Alex, and I took the train to New York and visited this extraordinary exhibit (side note: the address that pops up when you search for the exhibit is wrong; you must visit Louis Vuitton's website for the correct one). Being the knuckleheads, Alex and I accidentally took an Uber to the Financial District instead of heading to the Upper East Side. Apart from that little mishap, everything else went smoothly. We made a reservation online, and once we got there, they let us in for free (!!!).
The exhibit was huge; it took us about 45 minutes to an hour to get through the whole thing. Certain trunks had their own room, while others were in one huge room. The rooms that the individual trunks were in perfectly matched the trunks. In addition to being able to scan a QR to read more about each trunk, a trained associate also spoke and answered questions about the backstory of the trunks. I was impressed with how each artist interpreted the term "trunk." I expected to see 200 versions of the classic Louis Vuitton trunk, but each artist created their own definition.
I especially liked the trunk that was inside a glass bottle. I tried hard to figure out how the designer could make that happen, but I could not. I also loved the “balloon room.” As shown in the picture below, the room was filled with multicolored Louis Vuitton balloons. I was terrified that I was accidentally going to pop one, but thankfully I made it out without doing so.
At the end of the show, we could visit a workshop and make our trunks out of cardboard boxes. This was more designed for younger kids, but everyone could do some arts and crafts if they wished. They also sold some merchandise like books that contained all 200 trunks as well accessories, such as their classic purses. As cheesy as it sounds, walking through the exhibit allowed me to gain inspiration and appreciation for art. If you can visit the exhibit, also known as “200 trunks, 200 visionaries”, I highly recommend it.