The Louis in Shanghai
Louis Vuitton has unveiled an ambitious new cultural and retail destination in Shanghai’s Wujiang Road, part of the heaving Nanjing West Road business district. ‘The Louis’ inhabits a colossal, cruise ship-like structure, nearly 100ft tall, that pays tribute to the maison’s history as a malletier (trunk maker) and Shanghai’s port history as the ‘Gateway to the East’. Its prow and hull sport a sleek metallic Monogram embellishment, while the deck and stacked upper levels evoke the elegant shape of 19th-century transoceanic travel trunks.