VOLEZ, VOGUEZ, VOYAGEZ — LOUIS VUITTON

For the first time ever, Louis Vuitton (the legacy French fashion house) presented a major exhibition in North America — in downtown New York City, at the site of the former American Stock Exchange, to be specific — dedicated to the item that started it all: steamer trunks, and the countless iterations that came after it. 

Titled Volez, Voguez, Voyagez — Louis Vuitton (which translates to “sail, fly, travel,” a phrase borrowed from a 1965 advertisement) the exhibit, designed by Robert Carsen and curated by Olivier Saillard, catalogues the history of the brand from 1854 to the present, dividing its influence into 10 “chapters” that illustrate just how vast the uses of its trunks have been through history.

Fashion is still very much a part of the exhibition, though. Inside, visitors will find trunks created for celebrities like Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Yvonne Printemps, and opera singer Mary Garden, with clothes and accessories having belonged to them, all presented in a very feminine, upholstered ambiance.

This is free exhibition was held at the American Stock Exchange Building in New York City from October 27th, 2017 through January 7th, 2018.