2023/01 Louis Vuitton – Yayoi Kusama
Details:
Louis Vuitton
Yayoi Kusama
Capsule 2023
Via Bagutta 2, Milan
Review:
by Peter Hamer
january 29, 2023
Oh oh oh, where do I start? Since I don’t know, for this review, I’ll start from the end.
Never before in retail have we witnessed such a complex, spectacular, and, quite frankly, terrifying strategy for the launch of a capsule collection.
Let me break it down.
Complex because of the amount of planning, team, and contractor management, logistics, and structure needed to deploy such a concept. To give you an idea of the dimension: it was simultaneously activated at 50 LV retail locations worldwide, and this number does not include the department store takeovers (did you see Harrod’s?), 8 digital duty-free store facades, as well as dedicated packaging, and staff uniforms. It’s no wonder it took 9 months to develop!
The complexity of such a project at a brand like LV makes it by nature spectacular. It’s actually difficult NOT to find something to like. From the pumpkins to the interactive rooms, to the facade takeovers and eerily real Ms. Kusama mannequin painting in the windows of some locations, the concept is spectacular and there’s something for everybody! It’s actually so spectacular, it’s inevitable not to think of the budget allocated to this project. I’m guessing a couple of million, easily. If you ask me, the topic of budget should never be in the mind of the (potential) customers and should be an internal matter only, but here? How not to think about cash. As a matter of fact, talking to colleagues and other VMs, that’s what we talk about: the budget. Not the concept. Not the product, no. The budget.
In recent news, LV became the world’s first luxury brand to surpass €20bn in sales in 2022. A couple of million for a VM concept? Peanuts! And this is where I find this project terrifying. With the dimension of this launch, LV set a new VM benchmark, one that can only be surpassed by LV itself. How does that promote the much-needed “biodiversity” in retail necessary for it to survive? I cannot stress enough how important it is to have diversity in any industry for it to innovate and evolve. If it all comes down to budget, it’s no longer a matter of natural evolution, it just becomes a game of Battleship.
If this is what the future of retail will look like, with a few brands dominating and the rest trying to stay afloat it’s going to be a very lonely place. But yeah, kudos to the LV team who made it happen.
Since I was working at LV for the first collaboration with Yayoi, read my nostalgic review here, I remember all props and material had to be destroyed and /or burned. I had even asked the entire VM team in South Europe to send me photos of the destroyed props and made sure none of the props were in condition to be used or sold after the duration of the concept. I don’t think it will be different this time around. Everything you see of this concept will end up being burned or in a landfill. And so, I’m asking you, is that worth it? Because this is only the beginning.
