Louis Vuitton window Displays: the most beautiful and their marketing role

Louis Vuitton window displays are an essential part of the marketing experience for this flagship brand. The brand has published a book of its best creations. In our marketing mix guide, we mentioned Vuitton because its window displays have become integral to the brand’s identity. As you’ll see in this article, these windows are often inspired by collaborations with artists. Please learn more about Vuitton’s most beautiful window displays and their marketing analysis.

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Dinosaurs in the store window at Louis Vuitton

In 2013, Louis Vuitton inaugurated a series of window displays that remain the quintessence of the Vuitton marketing spirit: unprecedented, spectacular, and luxurious. The Champs-Elysées flagship store became a showcase for golden dinosaurs. Each window had its own, and some specimens were so large they spanned 2 windows.

What was interesting about these showcases was that Vuitton wasn’t necessarily trying to highlight the product. The dinosaurs were the focus of attention, and the brand’s products were relegated to accessories. Looking closely at the photos below, you’ll see that the products are sometimes pushed to one side, becoming almost invisible.

This type of showcase has remained an exception at Louis Vuitton. But they perfectly illustrate the concept of re-enchanting retail, which has become increasingly fashionable. Luxury brands are racing to attract shoppers’ attention and draw them into their stores. This excess sometimes takes on almost exaggerated forms, as in the following example (Yayoi Kusama). Combining elegance and the spectacular is quite an art, which has reached its peak with these window displays.

The Yayoi Kusama robot in the Place Vendome window

This article on Louis Vuitton window displays would not be complete without mentioning the event of 2023: the collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama. This collaboration led to some unheard-of street marketing operations (giant statue, giant inflatable effigy on the roof of the Champs Elysées flagship store). Shop windows were also decked out in the colors (or rather, “dots”) of this collaboration, and one, in particular, caught the world’s attention.

In the window of the boutique on the corner of Place Vendome and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Vuitton had displayed a humanoid robot that had taken on the features of the Japanese artist. The scene was so captivating that passers-by forgot all about the bag the robot was holding. I was able to take some wonderful photos on a sunny day.

Louis Vuitton x Jeff Koons showcase in London

Here’s another Louis Vuitton showcase that made an impression on me. This is a showcase created with Jeff Koons. It was a “total work” in that the showcase had become a work of art. The DNA of the Vuitton brand was treated with the artist’s codes. It is, therefore, a more “intellectual” showcase, less easily accessible to the general public, as it requires a certain artistic education.

There are 3 distinct components in this showcase:

• the monochrome figures typical of the artist’s imagination
• the balloons in the 2 corners of the window: note how Jeff Koons’ initials are treated in the same way as the Louis Vuitton logo
• the bags, of course, to which I dedicated a specific article in which I questioned the boundaries between art and craftsmanship

The rooftops of Paris: a window display to deceive the eye

This window display was inaugurated in the Louis Vuitton jewelry boutique on Place Vendome at the end of 2018. The windows are much smaller than those in the leather goods and ready-to-wear stores (due to security constraints). The settings are inevitably more intimate.

I found using this false perspective over the rooftops of Paris particularly clever. It gives the window a depth it doesn’t naturally have. The hot-air balloon is an invitation to escape. The watch in the gondola is equally symbolic. This luxury item will undoubtedly enable its wearer to rise spiritually and socially.

Marketing decryption: the role of the window display at Louis Vuitton

Window displays play a significant role in Louis Vuitton’s brand image. They reflect both the brand’s creativity and its positioning. Thanks to frequent and total renewal, they also become a destination for the brand’s fans, especially as their design follows a global campaign logic. Every Vuitton store worldwide renews its windows following the same codes simultaneously.

Their spectacular nature also plays a key role in Louis Vuitton’s power of attraction for its customers and those who aspire to become them. You must marvel at the imagination of Vuitton’s designers. The brand’s mental universe is thus forged by visual contact with the windows.

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab Pierre-Nicolas is de directeur van de marketing agentschap IntoTheMinds. Hij heeft speciaal interesse voor e-commerce, retail, HoReCa en supply-chain projecten. Hij is ook een onderzoeker aan de Vrije Universiteit Brussel en werkt ook als coach voor meerde publieke organisaties. Hij verwelkomt Linkedin uitnodigingen : gelieve gewoon een paar woorden toe te voegen en uit te leggen waarom U wilt connecteren.