Louis Vuitton Commissions Artwork In Central Paris

Louis Vuitton is known for colorful, eye-catching window displays, but instead of an elaborate setting for merchandise, Louis Vuitton is now offering Parisian passersby a mural along its Pont Neuf headquarters — to lift spirits in these gloomy times.

The star label of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton called on French artist Steven Burke, aka Luckylefthand, to decorate the façade of its Pont Neuf headquarters in central Paris with his bright, minimalist artwork. The artist, who hails from a surfing town on France’s southwest coast, painted bright, stylized rainbows and his signature hand motif — in a nod to social distancing, the hands are symbolically placed with a meter-and-a-half space between each. The mural stretches more than 900 feet, across 14 window facades.

“I hope I managed to convey some positive energy — we all need it these days,” said Burke, who is the nephew of the brand’s chief executive officer, Michael Burke. The artist said he sought to both convey the feeling of summer vacation while also capturing the current, transitory period.

Louis Vuitton last month announced it was making medical garments for local hospitals at the ready-to-wear manufacturing site in the central Paris headquarters, joining other LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton companies making supplies; the group has been using perfume factories, for example, to make hand sanitizer.

The neighborhood is also home to LVMH’s sprawling Samaritaine complex, which will house a high-end hotel and small department store, which had been scheduled to open this spring before the coronavirus crisis hit. As luxury stores remain shuttered in many markets, garment factories across the U.S. and Europe are taking part in the scramble to procure face masks and medical garments, including French labels Chanel and Kering’s Saint Laurent.