Fashion company Louis Vuitton has transformed many of its stores into giant tributes to artist Yayoi Kusama and her fabulous polka dots.
In celebration of the luxury designer’s latest collaboration with the Japanese manufacturer, many of its brick-and-mortar outposts have become shrines to her iconic aesthetic—not to mention Instagrammable destinations for the fashion and art-world set.
The new year has seen amazing art installations ranging from a Yayoi Kusama robot in New York City and a larger-than-life Yayoi Kusama sculpture to a polka-dotted pop-up store in Paris at Louis Vuitton sellers around the world. Native Japan.
“For the second time, Louis Vuitton invites leading Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama for a new creative encounter,” Louis Vuitton the website states The collaboration featured photos of the brand’s classic bag style — now covered in rainbow polka dots — as well as polka-dotted pants, shoes, and other outfits covered in the pattern. “Showcasing Louis Vuitton’s savior-faire, an innovative serigraphy technique reproduces Kusama’s brushstrokes, giving a strikingly realistic hand-painted 3D effect. Hand-applied, one by one, various sizes Metal half spheres with a stunning silver mirror effect bring to life a selection of pieces in the collection.
The collab’s Kusama-themed landing page also includes a quote from the 93-year-old, who has voluntarily lived in a mental hospital in Tokyo since 1977. In,” she said.
Storefront promotion for her new line with the retailer certainly helps it self-actualize: On the Upper East Side, a horrible human looking kusama The robot currently paints dots inside the picture window. Meanwhile, a Godzilla-sized Kusama stitches the dots together at the Louis Vuitton Paris headquarters and her polka-dotted face emerges from a billboard above Tokyo.
A new pop-up space in the Meatpacking District offers New Yorkers the opportunity to shop the collaboration while surrounded by mirror balls reminiscent of the popular Infinity Mirror Rooms experience of Kusama’s years.