A day at the museum might sound a little trite for some luxurious, globe-trotting fashion mavens, but with the official announcement of Fondation Louis Vuitton opening in Paris’ Bois de Boulogne, an afternoon perusing the art and history of the famed French fashion house suddenly seems like a must-do. CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault announced this week that the doors to the long-anticipated museum would be open October 27 of this year. The new museum will house 11 galleries, an auditorium and exhibition hall—one of its main attractions being that of the Arnault’s family art collection which is reported to include works from Damien Hirst, Mark Rothko, Ugo Rondinone, Serra and Pablo Picasso. “We have a pretty eclectic mix, but it is true that I am quite involved in the choice,” Arnault told French television station TF1 on Sunday night, when speaking of the museums art collection.
The 126,000 square-foot building was designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry who will also be designing a limited-edition bag to coincide with the opening in October. With cost for construction being estimated at upwards of €100 million (approx. $136 million), it’s one of the largest financial contributions LVMH has made to the world of art and Paris as a whole. While it seems it is a way to flaunt the company’s success, it is also meant as a gift to those who work under the LVMH name and to the Parisian community. “[The] extraordinary economic success of the group [is due to] the outstanding success of our designers,” Arnault stated. “This [is] a small payback to the public, and to our employees.”
