Worldwide Pop-ups Unleash Louis Vuitton Men’s SS24 Collection
Under the direction of Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton Men’s has only gotten bolder. After closing the year with an A-list party in the Hollywood of Hong Kong, they’re doubling down on glamour for Spring Summer 2024. Newly-crowned pop-up shops are launching to celebrate the SS24 line — including a shiny, appointment-only boutique smack dab in the middle of Soho, the white-hot core of all things ostentatious. Heading west to Los Angeles, a West Hollywood pop-up rang in the new collection with a star-studded attendees like Book For Men cover alum Steven Yeun and rising star Barry Keoghan. But that’s not all: over 50 locations are scheduled to bloom worldwide, transforming into golden Damier-chequered pop-ups that celebrate the landscape-changing Louis Vuitton Men’s SS24 collection.
West Hollywood’s pop-up pays tribute to Pont Neuf — the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, and the site of Pharrell Williams’ electric debut as creative director last June. Inside the space, Parisian-style street lamps stretch up towards the ceiling, framed by Pont-Neuf-inspired mouldings while gold accents glitter in the light.
High-level architecture has become a prerequisite for Louis Vuitton storefronts. As critic Paul Goldberger noted in his book, Louis Vuitton Skin, the boutiques are architectural extensions of the brand, designed to have “the same appeal as the Maison’s products, elevated to civic scale.” As a pop-up, the limited-edition storefront experiments with interior design rather than its building veneer. Make no mistake, though, there’s plenty to work with inside — a hidden room, accessible only by pulling the right book off a massive shelf, is fully equipped with a private collection of vibrant leather Speedy bags.
The event in West Hollywood was just a slice of what’s to come. Increasingly, we’ve seen the Maison invest in one-of-a-kind experiences in menswear, propelled by Williams’ insider access to stars. Guests like Jaden Smith, Nyjah Huston, Deacon Phillippe, Drew Starkey, Milo Manheim, Dylan Sprouse, and Miles Chamley-Watson, gathered inside for the launch, continuing the Pharrell-Williams-era tradition of turning collection launches into red carpets. (Perhaps we can start calling them golden Damier carpets?)
In any case, when star power is paired with a slew of cohesive pop-ups — polished at a breakneck pace and made to vanish just as fast — it’s a recipe for mystique. With other pop-ins and pop-ups featuring every novelty under the sun, from reconstructed cityscapes to holograms, the recent Louis Vuitton collections don’t feel like a typical change of the racks. Instead, each season is a proper event.
Myriad reinterpretations of the Speedy Bag — a classic Louis Vuitton leather piece — have a nearly-radioactive vibrance to them, inspired by the pulsing neon buzz of Manhattan. Elsewhere, Williams pixelates the classic Damier pattern, flattening the checkered-squares to denim blue and crystal-adorned whites. Cropped jackets play with traditional formalwear, accentuating the arms and tightening the form with a short silhouette. New motifs, including Williams’ “LV is for Lovers” tag, are cheekily self-referential. The clothing winks at its heritage from behind the deconstructed, blocky frames of LV Vision Square Sunglasses. But that’s enough chatter: explore the collection or find a pop-up near you on the Louis Vuitton site.
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