Louis Vuitton
project details
ROLE
Project Lead, Architectural Designer
NATURE OF WORK
Commissioned
YEAR
2023
TYPOLOGY
Retail Interior Design
SCOPE
Interior Design + Furniture Design + Special Finishes + Art Selection
AREA
8000 sq.ft.
LOCATION
Mumbai, India
WORKING WITH
PUBLISHED IN
For Louis Vuitton’s Mumbai flagship, we were appointed as the “Local Muse”: local architects working with the Paris design team to bring Indian art, design and making practices into the store. Our scope encompassed special finishes, art selection, bespoke and collectible furniture, and the development of particular spaces within the larger retail interior. My involvement extended from the initial development of these interventions through fabrication and on-site execution. Working between Louis Vuitton’s Paris and India teams, artists, craft workshops, furniture studios and contractors meant navigating different systems of design, approval and production. Each intervention had to hold its own character while working within the house’s established retail language. The project brought together techniques and objects from across India, requiring both an understanding of how they were made and the coordination needed to carry them into a highly controlled international retail environment.
When Louis Vuitton sought to incorporate Indian influences into its interior design, a collaboration was born. Working alongside the Louis Vuitton Paris design team was a remarkable learning experience, delving into the international standards of design. Our role in this project extended to crafting special finishes, designing bespoke furniture pieces, and curating art from India. The overall design was ingeniously segmented into distinct sections, encompassing leather goods for men and women, men’s and women’s retail, and the VIC room. The design palette, deeply rooted in Louis Vuitton’s signature tones, was characterized by beige and oak veneer, showcasing the textures of India through art, furniture, and special finishes.
15,367 Hours. These intricately embroidered panels come to life as artworks, carefully illustrated and translated into fabric codes and CNC perforations. Months of painstaking craftsmanship by numerous artisans have gone into these panels, amounting to a staggering 15,367 hours of dedication. The inspiration behind this art is Louis Vuitton’s enduring connection with India and its craftsmanship. Titled “Something to Remember You By”. The abstract composition blends the two signature store colors, transcending gender classifications and highlighting the evolving nature of fashion. Workshop Images Traditional Block Printing Contemporary custom print Shot by Fabien Charuau
The store’s local identity emerges through a network of making. Embroidery, block printing, stone carving, inlay, lacquer work and carpet making enter the interior through different hands and processes. Together with Indian art and collectible furniture, they give the Mumbai flagship its particular character.
Each technique demanded its own translation between design and production. For the private salon, a drawn composition became a CNC-perforated timber framework for hand embroidery. Elsewhere, custom printing blocks carried a pattern across the wall, while carved marble, micro-mosaic and lacquer work gave individual furniture pieces their character. Bespoke objects were considered alongside works selected from other Indian designers and studios. Samples, prototypes and workshop exchanges established how these different processes could meet the store’s requirements for finish, scale and installation.
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