Louis Vuitton Partners With Asia's Top Ranked Bar Leone by Lorenzo Antinori for an Exclusive Cocktail Experience

In a landmark fusion of Roman soul and French luxury, Louis Vuitton celebrates its newly expanded Lee Gardens store with an exclusive cocktail experience helmed by Lorenzo Antinori, founder of the world’s top-ranked and Asia’s No.1 bar, Bar Leone. This collaboration serves as a bridge between Antinori’s “Cocktail Popolare” philosophy—which champions craft for the people—and the storied heritage of the Maison.

The heart of the experience is a tribute to the Lee Gardens Hotel’s legendary Yum Sing Bar. Antinori has masterfully distilled 1970s Hong Kong nostalgia into a modern liquid narrative. “We wanted to capture that “Yum Sing” spirit — the joy of the collective toast—and elevate it with the refined materiality that defines Louis Vuitton,” says Antinori. The curated menu features a hero cocktail specifically designed to mirror the architectural elegance of the new store, utilizing precise techniques and travel-inspired ingredients that evoke the Maison’s “Art of Travel.”

True to the craftsmanship seen in LV’s leatherwork, the presentation at this pop-up is obsessive. From the clarity of the ice to the curated glassware, every detail reflects the high-fashion retail environment. Even the non-alcoholic offerings are treated with “World’s Best” rigor, ensuring that the mocktails possess the same complexity and “wow factor” as their spirited counterparts. By moving from the intimate setting of Bridges Street to the grand stage of Lee Gardens, Antinori proves that whether it is a hand-stitched trunk or a perfectly stirred drink, the true luxury lies in the art of making.

Hypebeast: The Lee Gardens Hotel’s Yum Sing Bar was a cornerstone of Hong Kong’s social history. How did you approach translating that specific 1970s nostalgia and the “Yum Sing” (cheers) spirit of Cantonese culture, into a modern cocktail menu that feels relevant for a Louis Vuitton audience today?

Lorenzo Antinori: Bar Leone, like the Yum Sing Bar, is very much about storytelling. Just like the inspiration behind Bar Leone, which comes from the ’70s and ’80s, we leaned into Louis Vuitton’s aesthetic of the space to pay homage to the bar itself, creating a comfortable and fun tribute to Hong Kong during that time.

Louis Vuitton is defined by the “Art of Travel” and constant movement. In creating this curated selection, did you look to specific travel-inspired ingredients or techniques that bridge the gap between an Italian “Cocktail Popolare” philosophy and the French luxury of the Maison?

Travelling is a fundamental part of my life. It’s a fundamental part of my job, having opened a bar here in Hong Kong and one coming soon in Shanghai. I was born in Italy, but I lived in Australia, I lived in Korea, I lived in the UK, I moved to Hong Kong. I think all those experiences helped me shaping who I am, but it also fed all my creativity and my imagination. I think that’s the beauty of travelling, being exposed to other culture, being exposed to flavors, to great stories. It’s the reason why I work in this industry. It has allowed me to discover the world.

What was the process of creating these drinks for the pop-up?

The cocktails were inspired by the original menu from the Yum Sing Bar. We selected a few from the menu and combined it with some of Bar Leone’s classics. For example, this Yum Sing Cafe is a take on an Irish Coffee which was featured in the original menu but we wanted to give it our own take. We have a cold brew cognac base, as an homage to Louis Vuitton and its heritage. It also has salted cream and cardamom… a very rich and complex coffee style cocktail.

If you had to choose one piece from the Louis Vuitton collection that embodies the spirit of the drink you’ve created today, which item would it be and why?

The beautiful Speedy P9 connects the past with the future and the past with the present. That’s exactly what we do here at Bar Leone. We look at the past, but at the same time, we try to project ourselves into the future and this is a piece that I wanted to pair with our Yum Sing Cafe cocktail, because a classic and beautiful and elegant Irish Coffee style cocktail can still be interpreted in a different way, in a modern way, adding very unique touches to it. So having said that, I’ll wait for everybody here at the Yum Sing pop-up until the 15th of March.