Art World
A Museum Carved Into Japanese Mountains Will Host Louis Vuitton’s Next Fashion Show
The Miho Museum was designed by I.M. Pei, the architect behind the Louvre's iconic glass pyramid.
Alyssa Buffenstein
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On May 14, Louis Vuitton will stage its next fashion show at the Miho Museum outside Kyoto. Designed by I.M. Pei—the architect known for the Louvre’s glass pyramid—and carved into two mountains in the Shigaraki mountain range, the location emphasizes the luxury label’s continual positioning of itself alongside extraordinary architectural sites.
Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton’s creative director, announced the venue for the 2018 Cruise collection show in an Instagram post on Thursday.
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Commissioned by one of Japan’s wealthiest women, the museum was built in 1997 at a cost upwards of $215 million, the Independent reported in 1998. Today, it houses a collection of Japanese antiquities.
The museum, though, is perhaps better known for its architecture than its exhibits.
Eighty percent of it is underground, with the glass, steel, and wood construction carved directly into a mountain.
Pei designed it based on triangular and circular motifs, and it features a prominent suspension bridge situated amongst cherry blossom trees.
“I think you can see a very conscious attempt on my part to make the silhouette of the building comfortable in the natural landscape,” Pei once said of the design, according to the museum’s website.
“This is Shangri-La,” he said when its construction was completed.
The Arcadian setting will set a decisively “resort” tone for the show.
“The place inspired me right away,” Ghesquière told Vogue. “We are transported into a tangled web of nature, geographical greatness, and a unique architectural vision.”
We are also set to be transported into a tangled web of art and fashion, one that Ghesquière knows well.
Vuitton’s Fall 2017 show was held at the Louvre, and its Resort 2017 show at the Oscar Neimeyer-designed Niteròi Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro. The Resort collection the previous year debuted at the Bob Hope estate in Palm Springs, designed by John Lautner.
Just this month, Vuitton, known for its leather craftsmanship, released a collection of handbags designed in collaboration with Jeff Koons.
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