The Universe of Vuitton: LV Time Capsule at ION
- Oct 20, 2017
- 4 min read
Singapore is always killing it in the exhibition game. Earlier this year, we had the visit of Yayoi Kusama's Life is in the Heart of the Rainbow, which attracted 1-hour queues for installations such as the Infinity Room.
This holiday season, we got Louis Vuitton's Time Capsule at Singapore's ION, straight from its previous stop at Hong Kong.
Before I get into the exhibition, can I digress a bit and talk about the opening party the day before the opening? The main guest was South Korean model/actress Lee Sung-kyung (pictured above). She has 7.4m Instagram followers. I also saw some Indonesian public figures, such as blogger Olivia Lazuardy (258k followers) and actor Dion Wiyoko (758k followers).
Just analysing how Louis Vuitton chooses who to fly internationally in the quest for PR awareness.
The time capsule room starts with some of the first luggages that the brand produces. We get to see how LV introduces the Monogram and Damier pattern, which is over a century old. The staff explained that the Damier was actually stopped production for some years, only to get a glorified comeback and remained in the house's signature lineup until today. Also showcased are the pieces created by current creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere: the Petite Malle and the Twist.
Taking up the next space is what I like to call 'the travel'. LV products are made for affluent travelers in the first place, so it makes absolute sense for this showcase to be here. There are travel carriers from the compact to the spacious, the antiques to the contemporary. The exhibition's designer showcased the bags inside a cabinet with a screen playing a motion picture of a moving locomotive. it really felt like we're traveling at the hands of time. One of my personal favourites is the large jewellery cabinet, where society women store their diamonds and pearls while on a month-long voyage.
In the second-to-last section, we get to see the collaborations that LV did throughout. Showcased on your left side is the first Jeff Koons collection from this year, where he plastered utterly-recognisable artworks (such as Starry Night and Mona Lisa) on LV bag silhouettes. Before the corridor to the next room was a Monogram Cerises, one of the legacies of the Marc Jacobs era. On the right side, you can see a collaboration that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the monogram in 1996, a Manolo Blahnik shoe luggage, and the cult-and-sold-out Supreme collaboration. I didn't see the Takashi Murakami piece though.
Now, here comes the main event. A massive luggage is located at the center of the room, and its surrounding walls light up with images that tells the story of LV. As the story is presented, patterns of the luggage changes. It was such a mesmerising visual feast. No photos or Instagram stories do it justice, really - you have to experience it firsthand.
At the exit, you will be able to find a vending machine that dispenses postcard/stickers - a memorabilia for you to take home. There is also a deconstructed Petite Malle laid up on the table near the exit doors, as well as rolls of the house's iconic leathers.
As a fashion marketer, I can't help but think about why did LV go through all this trouble to create this enthralling room with free admission and all. It all comes down to branding, really. This sort of marketing is covert and not a form of blatant advertising, a type of promotion that seems to be losing its mojo in certain markets. It speaks to the niche artistic audience and the I'm-in-with-what's-in crowd (cough, all of us, cough). This whole event, like most of them nowadays, are groomed for social sharing.
As the Yayoi Kusama exhibit taught me, people don't need to understand the roots of an art piece - if they think it looks good and everyone's visiting it, it's going online (1-hour queue is nothing against #InstaFame). With social media, people will become aware of what's happening to who, which comes back to why they invited a South Korean actress with millions of followers: now even the South Koreans and fans who watched her dramas (no matter where they live in the world) know about an LV event in a tiny Southeast Asian island.
This is also why they invited those Indonesian public figures. Indonesia has a large volume of market, and its middle/upper class have strong spending power and even stronger thirst for social media eminence. It's also conveniently a 2-hour flight away from the two biggest cities: Jakarta and Surabaya. Hence, Indonesians could easily travel to Singapore and drop by the exhibit after their Orchard fix (I speak as an Indonesian: There's no way Indonesian tourists would fly to Singapore and skip out on Orchard).
Honestly, one of the best things about social media is that it made communication transcend beyond geographical boundaries. That's one excellent trait, especially for a global brand like LV.
Also, I'm excited for the Museé d'Orsay exhibition at National Gallery which opens mid-November! I can't wait to see a Monet in real life - and LV's latest Jeff Koons collaboration lineup certainly hyped me more on it.
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