The Fondation Louis Vuitton: A utopian space apart from the world of luxury retail

Abstract

Luxury brands have developed new strategies to enhance their value in a more competitive terrain where the exclusivity of luxury is called into question. In a consumer society the definition of luxury has broadened and the scope of luxury has enlarged due to the globalization of luxury brands, increased awareness of these brands and the availability of products to a larger audience on more platforms. While profit margins of some of the top brands are showing impressive growth in order to retain some of the requisite qualities traditionally associated with luxury, ‐ rarity, beauty, timelessness ‐ luxury enterprises must broaden their scope beyond the commercial realm. Many luxury fashion brands have accomplished this through collaborations with artists, engaging renowned architects to create extraordinary flagship stores, showing the work of artists in flagship stores, and in some cases, creating separate spaces within stores for exhibitions. Some brands have entered into collaborations with museums, and a few have created foundations apart from their flagship stores. We will consider the evolution and meaning behind the development of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, an exemplar of this strategy that ties the brand to the world of contemporary art through the realization of a utopian structure within the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.