France’s LVMH Group has announced plans to open its first-ever Louis Vuitton café and restaurant in Japan, Osaka, located inside the luxury brand’s biggest flagship store to-date.
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Opening on 1st February, the new seven-storey Osaka maison– located on Shinsaibashi’s Midosuji shopping street –was designed by architect, Jun Aioki, and boasts an aesthetic that is both light and airy.
In all-over white — inspired by the billowing sails of traditional higaki-kaisen cargo ship, which once transported cargo from Osaka to Tokyo — the breeziness of the store’s façade is held up by a metal fretwork from the ground, symbolising a ship sails and its floating on water.
This sailing ship style carries on inside the first four floors, which was designed by New Yorker, Peter Marino. The décor features wooden floors and wooden pillars meeting metal ceilings designed to feel like being on the deck of a yacht.
Reflecting the location of the new Osaka maison, traditional Japanese materials — woodwork and origami washi paper, among other pieces –– occupy a variety of small-to-large areas of the building; from large halls to small corners of each room.
The two new culinary experiences — ‘Le Café V’ and ‘Sugalabo V’ — are located on the building’s top floor. Inside, Le Café V boasts a cocktail bar, a terrace and a connecting bar with an added cocoon room. A speakeasy- style door opens into the restaurant, Sugalabo V, which features an open kitchen. The restaurant will serve up dishes from chef Yosuke Suga, who trained under Michelin star chef, Joël Robuchon.
To celebrate the store opening, Louis Vuitton will launch a range of limited-edition items from its spring/summer 2020 collection.
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Items include a limited range of 50 watches, engraved with ‘Midosuji Limited’ after the boutique’s street location. The opening comes after LVMH Group, parent to Louis Vuitton, this week posted a 15% increase in total sales for 2019.