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The lady on the table next to me is clad in a striped parachute-sleeved blouse, accessorised with a wide white belt, slung low and crossed-over on the hip – head-to-toe Louis Vuitton SS/24. On her feet are the new knot pumps, and a bag adorned in the brand’s signature monogram on a stool by her side. It’s giving French style codes with all the hallmarks of Nicolas Ghesquière.
Then, the lady picks up her plate and starts licking it clean.
This is, after all, no ordinary restaurant. This is Gaggan at Louis Vuitton, where diners dressed in the latest collection eat with their hands.
@grazia_me @Louis Vuitton brings you LV The Place, in Bangkok, Thailand 🌴✨ Fine dining, immersive exhibition, cafe, & more. #LouisVuitton #Luxury #Fashion #Travel ♬ original sound – Artemas fan
In the bustling area of Ratchaprasong in Bangkok lies the French Maison’s new destination concept: LV The Place Bangkok. Occupying two floors of Gaysorn Amarin shopping centre, the experiential mega-store boasts not just a restaurant by one of the world’s most celebrated and irreverent chefs, but also an immersive exhibition, a boutique, and Le Cafe Louis Vuitton, a chic patisserie on the ground floor.
Wedding haute cuisine with haute couture, the epicurean gem that is Gaggan at Louis Vuitton is defined by a motto of five S’s: sweet, sour, salty, spicy and surprise. Such is the level of anticipation that it is consistently fully booked months in advance by Bangkok’s most affluent style set. But this is not your average fine dining establishment. Thailand’s capital has long been known for its vibrant food culture, where street food stalls exist alongside Michelin star restaurants, and multi-award-winning chef, Gaggan Anand, brings just this into Louis Vuitton’s first restaurant in Southeast Asia, with dishes that are a molecular explosion of art, fashion and flavour.
Case in point? The aforementioned “Lick It Up” dish, which can only be consumed by guests picking up their plate and quite literally ‘licking’ off the nine artfully layered – and edible, of course – LV motifs, crafted out of five different types of pureed potato. This is just one of the many unexpected offerings that transcends the norm and breaks away from often stiff formalities of upscale eateries – Gaggan is notorious for listing items on his menus as just a simple emoji instead of a name. His restaurants have always been synonymous with creativity and innovation, and his collaboration with the French fashion house is no exception.
Much of Louis Vuitton’s 170-year heritage is devoted to travel, which explains the multicultural influences brought in by the Kolkata-born chef. Gaggan marries local produce and flavours steeped in Thai history, with a sophisticated sprinkling of Parisian fare and a playful nod to his own Indian heritage. Through both the eight-course lunch and 17-course dinner, here, Gaggan and Louis Vuitton redefine luxury as a multisensory experience. This is not just a meal, this is an experience that defies expectations, where every bite is an adventure.
Gaggan even sits on the same floor as the Louis Vuitton boutique, which, perhaps, denotes its significance within LV The Place Bangkok. But it’s here, in the store, where Louis Vuitton’s product universes collide. The space is designed to offer fluidity between menswear, womenswear, travel, art and interiors. Worldwide exclusive items like the Alma Nano Rainbow series are up for grabs in here, as are highly limited edition Virgil Abloh pieces, like the LV Trainer Upcycling sneaker. A special hot stamping service with the “Nong Vivienne” design is also available, adding a personalized touch for shoppers.
Downstairs guests can immerse themselves in Visionary Journeys, an exhibition chronicling the storied history of the Maison, which is divided into five thematic rooms: Trunkscape, Origins, Iconic Bags, Collaboration, and the Souvenirs room.
The exhibition begins with 96 Courrier trunk modules – the seminal product that represents the history of craft and innovation at Louis Vuitton’s core -, which are assembled into a captivating tunnel. Through a dynamic blend of archival pieces, like a cigarette box from 1903, to Nicolas Ghesquière’s Promenade luggage piece that he created for his first Cruise collection in 2016, the Origins room presents a rich tapestry of the evolution of the trunk. LV Icons pays homage to the iconic bags that have defined Louis Vuitton’s fashion narrative– think the Speedy, Alma and Petite-Malle in all their iterations over the past 25 years by Marc Jacobs, Kim Jones, Virgil Abloh, Pharrell Williams and more. From Takashi Murakami to Supreme, and Richard Prince to Yayoi Kusama, Collaborator showcases the collector pieces, rewriting how luxury brands and artists collaborate. And finally, it wouldn’t be an exhibition without Souvenirs. Here lies a giant vending machine of brand ephemera that contains exhibition-specific objects like posters, tote bags, stickers, pencils and postcards.
Finish your journey at Le Cafe Louis Vuitton, a botanically imbued patisserie serving cakes, parfaits, tarts and Thai-inspired desserts such as Mango Sticky Rice Fizz. Coffees are adorned with the LV monogram, and cookies and other sweet treats are sold in Louis Vuitton’s signature orange-hued gift box.
The living legacy of Louis Vuitton is one of an ongoing journey. It begins in 1836 with a young man named Louis Vuitton leaving his hometown of Jura, no older than 14, and crossing France for two years before arriving to Paris where he apprenticed for an estimable trunk maker and packer. And it continues today as a Maison with a global presence that also brings its runway shows and cultural experiences from Paris to South Asia and beyond.
louisvuitton.com/lv-the-place-bangkok
