Closer Look at Louis Vuitton's "LV The Place Bangkok"
A first of its kind 360 concept for the brand, including an exhibition, store, café and fine dining restaurant with Chef Gaggan Anand.
Louis Vuitton has launched a new, multi-faceted experiential building in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand — titled “LV The Place Bangkok.” The building houses an exhibition that takes visitors through the brand’s rich history and a café with a range of sweet treats, drinks and exclusive items. Additionally, it features a store that offers fluidity between the men’s and women’s product universes, as well as a restaurant launched in partnership with celebrated Chef Gaggan Anand.
All under one roof inside of the newly renovated Gaysorn Amarin shopping mall, the space itself stands as a testament to innovative design, further characterized by its dreamy façade of glowing diamond shapes. Inside, visitors are greeted by a multifaceted world where retail, dining and culture intertwine, providing a unique and immersive journey through the Louis Vuitton universe.
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Visionary Journeys Exhibition
The ground floor of the building hosts the “Visionary Journeys” exhibition, an exploration of Louis Vuitton’s storied heritage, developed in collaboration with the globally acclaimed architectural firm OMA and Partner Shohei Shigematsu. This exhibition takes visitors on a thematic journey through rooms dedicated to the Maison’s core pillars: savoir-faire, innovation, travel and creation.
Notably, the exhibition begins with the “Trunkscape,” where 96 Courrier trunk modules assemble into a captivating tunnel, symbolizing the brand’s journey from traditional trunk-making to becoming a beacon of innovation in luxury fashion. This installation not only showcases the craftsmanship and design ethos that Louis Vuitton is known for but also serves as a portal transporting visitors from the vibrant city of Bangkok into the heart of the Maison’s heritage. The Origins room further delves into this narrative, presenting a rich tapestry of the Vuitton family’s contributions over generations. Through a dynamic blend of archival pieces and innovative designs, this space encapsulates the evolution of luxury travel and fashion, illustrating the brand’s adaptability and foresight in the face of changing societal needs and technologies.
As guests journey through the exhibition, the Icons section pays homage to the iconic bags that have defined Louis Vuitton’s fashion narrative over the past 25 years. This segment highlights the evolution of these designs through the creative lenses of legendary artistic directors Marc Jacobs, Kim Jones, Nicolas Ghesquière, Virgil Abloh and Pharrell Williams. By showcasing 21 bags and 2 ready-to-wear looks within unique acrylic bubbles, this area emphasizes the timeless beauty and innovation inherent in each piece, presenting them as both historical artifacts and modern masterpieces.
The journey concludes in the Collaborations room, a testament to the Maison’s groundbreaking partnerships with renowned artists. This space celebrates the fusion of art and luxury, featuring collaborations that have redefined the brand’s identity and expanded its influence beyond the confines of fashion. Featured collaborators include names like NIGO, Yayoi Kusama and Supreme just to name a few. While we don’t want to spoil the surprise, there is a fifth room, with colors inspired by the tents of Bangkok’s iconic Train Market — here, guests will come across an interactive experience where they will have a chance to take something home with them from the exhibition.
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Le Café Louis Vuitton
Adjacent to the exhibition is Le Café Louis Vuitton, a café that combines botanical design elements with the chic aesthetic of the Maison. Guests can indulge in a selection of patisseries like the Star Blossom Cake, Monogram Cake and the unique Mango Sticky Rice Fizz. The café’s interior, featuring natural materials and a large curved counter for dessert display, offers a refreshing oasis in the bustling city.
Additionally, the café features elements unique to LV The Place Bangkok, including a series of trunks that are painted to feature Wat Arun, one of Bangkok’s most significant temples and the Eiffel Tower — further outlining the collaboration of culture. Other notable elements of the café include various location-exclusive gift items and Louis Vuitton’s Vivienne character shown expressing Thailand’s signature “Wai” greeting.
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The Store
Upstairs, on the second floor, the Louis Vuitton store presents an immersive shopping experience, blending vintage furniture with vibrant artwork. The space is designed to offer fluidity between the men’s and women’s product universes, featuring worldwide exclusive items like the Alma Nano Rainbow series, a Cruise 2024 T-shirt and a unique LV Trainer Upcycling sneaker, designed by the late Virgil Abloh, with a highly limited stock. A special hot stamping service with the “Nong Vivienne” design is also available, adding a personalized touch for shoppers.
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Gaggan at Louis Vuitton
Last but certainly not least, completing the LV The Place Bangkok experience is the restaurant “Gaggan at Louis Vuitton” by celebrated chef Gaggan Anand.
Located on the upper level, the restaurant offers a menu based on the 5 “S” – Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy, and Surprise, featuring exclusive seasonal dishes. The design of the restaurant, with its pyramid of trunks entrance and undulating walls, provides an avant-garde backdrop for a memorable dining experience. Guests visiting Gaggan at Louis Vuitton will have the choice between reserving an 8-course lunch experience or a 17-course dinner experience, priced at 4,000+ THB ($112 USD) and 8,000+ THB ($225 USD) respectively.
Pending his availability, Chef Gaggan may also make an appearance during these dining experiences, which was the case for our visit to the the restaurant. During the dinner, Gaggan, alongside his team, frequently visits the table, explaining each dish and its inspiration in detail as well as how they are meant to be enjoyed. However, guests will quickly learn that it’s not your average fine dining experience, with the second dish “Lick It Up” being one you must pick up and lick off the plate — instantly breaking the often preconceived idea of pretentiousness associated with fine dining.
“I want to bring that as a second dish, so that when you come to the restaurant, you get a straight message that oh, ‘we are not here for pretentious cuisine, we’re here for good food,’” shared Chef Gaggan in a conversation with Hypebeast.
Explaining more on how the collaboration came to be in the first place, Gaggan expressed that it’s been a year-long journey since its inception and that he and his team visited Paris multiple times to better understand the brand’s DNA and build it into the inspiration of the dishes.
“The idea was: looks like Louis Vuitton — tastes like Gaggan”
“The idea was: ‘looks like Louis Vuitton — tastes like Gaggan” shared the Chef, explaining that the experience is meant to tie into his existing practice but in a way that embodies the elegance of the Maison.
That being said, the Chef’s menu does conceptually push the boundaries in several ways, like the previously mentioned “Lick It Up” dish. Another notable dish is the “Cold Curry,” a long-time signature of Gaggan’s which explores what is usually a hot, cooked dish, in a cold and raw form — creating a sort of surprise to the senses when consumed as the overall taste profile is in line with the cooked iteration of the dish.
Another of our favorites from the 17 course, 21 bite experience was “World Map” which Gaggan explains as a dish that brings people together despite their background. Expressing this in more detail, he said “The world is very divided, you wake up in the morning and there is a lot of sad news, highlighting how we divide people by color, religion, caste and that’s what I want to bring to the table — the idea that we are all going through the world where you don’t know who’s cooking, which hand, which country, which color or which religion but in the end when you eat it and you enjoy the cuisine of their country.”
Adding to this, he said, “In other words, we bring together the world in one place, where there is no color, no religion and no differences.”
Lastly, Gaggan explained how he feels the launch of LV The Place is a significant addition to Bangkok as a city, a place he’s been calling home for 17 years and that with the restaurant specifically, he hopes to show the world that Asian chefs can merge with Western brands and create culinary experiences worthy of global recognition.
