Louis Vuitton to hold Paris Fashion Week show at La Samaritaine

Louis Vuitton's artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière is taking the brand's upcoming Paris Fashion Week show to a venue he has had his eye on for quite some time now. After fifteen years of the La Samaritaine being under construction, it is now ready to play home to Louis Vuitton's spring/summer 2021 Paris Fashion Week runway show.

The collection will debut on the top floor of a complex under a glass dome called La Rotunde, that is still in the works of being completed. The "phygital" show will offer those tuning in via livestream a different experience from audience members thanks to a green screen creating a more psychedelic world for viewers.

Louis Vuitton is actually planning to stage two shows with 200 people each in the spirit of keeping their invitee list large, but also allowing for social distancing and necessary precautions in a world still plagued by coronavirus. This marks La Samaritaine's first event since 2005 when it shutdown after safety concerns and has been under construction ever since to turn it into a multifunctional complex featuring everything from the legendary department store to low-income housing. It is expected to completely open in 2021.

Louis Vuitton acquired a majority stake in La Samaritaine in 2001, affording them prime real estate in Paris. The reopening of La Samaritaine was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic shutting down France for several months.

photo: via us.louisvuitton.com