148 | HARPER’S BAZAAR | November 2019 http://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk
ST Y LE
‘I do admire the
“chic” of London,
the traditions
but also the
enthusiasm for
rule-breaking’
Sarah Crowner’s ‘Rising
and Falling Forms
(Magenta, Peacock,
Scarlet)’ (2019) and
(left) ‘Objets Nomades’,
all to be displayed in the
New Bond Street storeby the British duo Raw Edges, which are suspended throughout the
store. Magpies will be drawn to the jewellery salon, where this sea-
son’s collection – ‘Riders of the Knights’, a tribute to mediaeval
heroines – sparkles discreetly. The Cruise collection will be in situ
when the store opens its doors this month: it is an ode to New York
street style, produced with the typically French savoir-faire for
which Louis Vuitton is renowned. Or, as its creator Nicolas
Ghesquière puts it: ‘I am paying homage to Gotham City, but with
our tools and our touch.’ The Vuitton devotion to craftsmanship
becomes available to a wider demographic here, too, via a new
service that will allow customers to peruse the gowns worn on the
red carpet by Hollywood stars such as Emma Stone and Julia
Roberts, and have one made to fit.
Those willing to follow their nose will find themselves in a space
devoted to scent, where they may detect wafts of jasmine, patchouli
and pear, all of which make an appearance in the latest perfume,
Coeur Battant (‘beating heart’). Fresh, dewy
and somewhat mysterious, it delivers a welcome
hit of the Nile Delta at dusk to the heart of
central London. ‘I hope it will bring a wildness
and sensuality to any city,’ says Jacques
Cavallier, Louis Vuitton’s erudite master per-
fumer. ‘Though I do admire the “chic” of
London, the traditions but also the enthusiasm
for rule-breaking. Of course, I can picture a
young, British, cosmopolitan, urban woman
wearing the scent – but actually, it is for anyone
seeking a new expression of femininity. It would
have been perfect on Clementine Churchill.’
Cavallier’s affection for ‘le style anglais’
seems to reflect that of the house, and its enduring relationship with
Britain. In 1885, Georges Vuitton, the eponymous founder’s heir
with an appetite for expansion, opened a London branch of the
luxury luggage brand at 289 Oxford Street, with the tricolour flag on
the signage. Following a stint at 454 Strand, in 1900 Georges moved
Louis Vuitton to the sophisticated New Bond Street, which he
considered more suitable. The 20th century saw admiration for
Vuitton flourish, even among royals – during the 1930s, the Duke
and Duchess of Windsor commissioned bespoke trunks for their
nomadic lifestyle, while King George V and Queen Elizabeth paid
the Paris store a visit when they were in town.
Happily, the feeling seems to be mutual: Louis Vuitton celebrated
that King and Queen’s Silver jubilee in 1935 by offering clients
bespoke suitcase keys adorned with profiles of their majesties
and made a miniature suitcase for the young Princesses Elizabeth
and Margaret’s dolls. When Prince Harry
married Meghan Markle years later, fluttering
Union Jacks took over the Bond Street window
and special editions of greatest-hit hand-
bags were released bearing the patriotic motif.
Now, continuing the tradition of producing
suitcases for every need imaginable, Louis
Vuitton has turned to Fortnum & Mason to
collaborate on the creation of a tea trunk,
fitted with custom caddies, chinaware, a mono-
grammed tea pot and a pop-up table on which
to rest one’s cup and saucer when on the move.
Perhaps it is this playful approach to solving
problems that appeals to our national sensibility: while the ‘Noé’
holdall was famously designed to carry five bottles of champagne
(four standing up, one inverted and slotted into the centre), the
1996 ‘Sybilla’ rucksack is possibly better suited to British climes,
fitted as it is with an elegant pop-up umbrella.
In a world of mobile platforms and digital reach, it is heartening
to witness the unstoppable evolution of 17–20 New Bond Street,
and see that the forecast for bricks-and-mortar stores looks sunny.
After all, no screen can provide the lingering scent of patchouli, the
shimmering crackle of hand-sewn sequins or the mood-altering
power of a monumental painting – something, it seems, Louis
Vuitton knows well. A quintessential French brand has the London
flagship it deserves, and long may she sail...
Louis Vuitton (www.louisvuitton.com) reopens at 17–20 New Bond Street,
London W1, on 23 October.