Emma Louis Vuitton Art Deco Exhibition in Paris
Staged on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts which took place in Paris in 1925, this immersive presentation revisits the historic moment that helped define the Art Deco movement and honours the House influential participation in the original event.
It also spotlights the legacy of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, grandson of the founder, whose innovative and artistic vision, always with an eye to beauty, shaped a pivotal era for the House.
Since its founding in 1854, Louis Vuitton has accompanied generations of travellers with trunks and accessories that combined utility, refinement and excellence. Meanwhile, at the family home and ateliers in Asnières, artistic influences and decorative objects attested to a deep appreciation for craftmanship.
By the early 20th century, Gaston-Louis Vuitton began to integrate his artistic sensibility into the aesthetic of the House. Under his guidance, Louis Vuitton engaged directly with the applied arts, forming collaborations with artists and designers such as Pierre-Émile Legrain, Camille Cless-Brothier, and Gaston Le Bourgeois. Under the banner Éditions d’art, these partnerships culminated in the House’s celebrated presentation at the 1925 exhibition.
The exhibition plays out across eight rooms, each offering a distinct thematic perspective. With over 300 heritage objects and archival materials, many never shown publicly until now, Louis Vuitton Art Deco reaffirms the House deep connection to the Art Deco movement and its lasting impact on modern elegance.
Visitors begin in the Family Heritage Room, which traces the House’s early years and reveals how Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s upbringing and artistic environment in Asnières nurtured his creative instincts. The next space, titled 1925: The Louis Vuitton Consecration, reconstructs the House’s stand at the Paris expo and details its role in Class 9, which showcased leather goods and travel cases. Period photographs and a recreated diorama evoke the grandeur and precision of the display.
The third room, Art Deco Manifesto, presents the technical ingenuity and design language that defined the House creations at the time – trunks such as the auto trunk, wardrobe trunk, and shoe secretary alongside geometric evening bags and finely crafted small leather goods. The inspiration for La Beauté Louis Vuitton can be traced back to Elegance and Beauty at Louis Vuitton Room, where first Louis Vuitton toiletry kits and grooming sets, such as the ivory-accented Milano and the elaborate Marthe Chenal case – custom constructed to house the French opera singer’s array of bottles and brushes – demonstrate how everyday objects became canvases for artistic expression. The room also pays tribute to clients Jeanne Lanvin and Paul Poiret, whose namesake fashion houses were shaping the aesthetic of the era.
The fifth room, The Art of Windows, showcases Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s contributions to the art of window displays. His flagship vitrine on the capital’s grand avenue became experimental stages for the House where the careful attention to lighting, spatial composition, and theatricality sublimated the items on view. Here, a reconstruction highlights the Champs-Élysées bag in soft leather and canvas.
In Colours, Forms and Materials, visitors explore the visual vocabulary of Art Deco through bold chromatic palettes, striking silhouettes, and luxurious materials, which continue to inform the House’s design ethos. The next space, From Drawing to Advertising: the process of creativity Room, reveals how Gaston-Louis Vuitton oversaw the full creative process, from object design to promotional materials. Recurring motifs such as clouds, stylised human profiles, and octagonal shapes serve as visual throughlines.
The journey concludes with Beauty in Travel, where Art Deco’s international influence is embodied through the glamour of modern transport. From luxury trains to transatlantic ocean liners, travel was both inspiration and destination. Here, archival pieces from the 1920s are in dialogue with contemporary creations, including Creative Director of Women’s Collections, Nicolas Ghesquière’s 2020 Cruise collection inspired by New York’s Art Deco architecture, along with looks by Men’s Creative Director, Pharrell William, but also Marc Jacobs and Kim Jones that echo the energy of the Jazz Age.
Beyond the exhibition, the visit can be extended with a meal at Le Café Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton, where a Culinary Journey is proposed with a new menu of savoury options, fine pastries, signature cocktails and barista specialties, all based around the most iconic fare of the Café Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton. Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton and the Gift Store offer visitors a selection of chocolates and collectible items to round out their experience.
Louis Vuitton Art Deco will be open to the public from 26th Septembe 2025. Free entrance
Address: LV Dream – 26 Quai de la Mégisserie, Paris 1er
Opening days/hours: from Tuesday to Sunday – 11am to 8pm
Reservations on www.louisvuitton.com
Le Café Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton
Address: 2 bis rue du Pont Neuf
Opening days/hours: every day – 11am to 7pm
Reservations on www.louisvuitton.com
