Volez, Voguez, Voyagez – Louis Vuitton Exhibition in New York City

I was in New York City last week for a quick trip to visit my grandmother and some friends. We mostly just grabbed meals together and relaxed, but one day I went out on my own to see the new Louis Vuitton exhibit that's in lower Manhattan. Coincidentally I had just read about it in the latest issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine*, so I figured I'd check it out.

The exhibition focuses on how changes related to travel impacted the House of Louis Vuitton. He started out as a box maker, and then started making trunks that were sturdy but light-weight, perfect for travelling. As more people started using cars and flying more often, and continued to travel by boat and train, Louis Vuitton created trunks to suit their needs. "Necessity is the mother of invention" it is said, and so these trunks and bags, and therefore their place in fashion, transformed as travel did.

I took TONS of photos:

The name means "Fly, Vogue, Travel" (well, according to Google Translate).

The man himself, Louis Vuitton

The classic trunk that has become so iconic to the House's name

Each drawer was meant to hold a shoe.

This trunk was designed with drawers, one specifically for ladies gloves.

Here you can see a mix of his newer trunks and bags along with the older ones.

When people would travel to faraway lands, they would need to pack ALL of their things. That means a lot of trunks.

Traveling by boat was no longer just a way to get from Point A to Point B, but now "resort wear" was coming into fashion for vacations taken by boat.

This trunk was designed specifically for tea-time.

A picnic trunk kept in cars

The trunks not only came in the classic brown with gold; this one is black with the blue design.

One room of the exhibit was designed to make you feel like you were in a train car.

These are coats from more recent collections.

Louis Vuitton created many library trunks, even one for Ernest Hemingway.

In these drawings you can see the first rough sketches of what would become the iconic logo design for the House.

The walls in one of the rooms were covered in the LV design.

This library trunk could even transform into a desk!

This is a newer design by Marc Jacobs, who was the creative director for Louis Vuitton for 16 years. Not my fave.

The line between art and fashion has always been quite blurry. You can see that these trunks and bags were not only designed to be functional, but to be beautiful as well.

The chandelier and draped ceilings in this room made it feel very glamorous!

A trunk design for Greta Garbo and her shoes

A newer custom piece: a make-up case for Sharon Stone

Several cases were designed for hair brushes, shaving kits, perfumery, and other small items.

This was a trunk owned by Katharine Hepburn. Notice how it has drawers and hangers.

This collection was a collaboration with artist Yayoi Kusama, who had an exhibit in DC earlier this year.

The latest collaboration with Jeff Koons called "Masters" takes famous paintings and transforms them into handbags.+

Trunk were also designed to hold musical instruments, including drum sticks!

You can see how popular the bags were even in the beginning!

Dresses of celebrities were on display as well.

The front one was worn by Alicia Vikander at the 2016 Oscars.

Taylor Swift wore the front one to the 2016 Met Gala.

The exhibit will be in New York City until early in the New Year, so I highly recommend it! It's free to attend, but registration is recommended.

*Here's the article from the magazine: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a13060498/louis-vuitton-exhibition/

+Read more about the collaboration between Jeff Koons and the House of Louis Vuitton: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a12823707/jeff-koons-art-history/