Louis Vuitton VR
Asnières Immersive is a Virtual Reality dive into the fascinating history of Louis Vuitton.
Through the power of Virtual Reality (VR), clients are transported to the magical Louis Vuitton family home in Asnières, France from anywhere in the world.
”This technology allows us to take our clients on a journey into the past, but also to the future, and to make them experience something that is truly extraordinary, sensorial, and entertaining,” said Agnès Vissoud, Digital Innovation and LAB Director, Louis Vuitton.
Pedro Tome, Head of Client Relations EMEA, Louis Vuitton commented,“We knew the client was hungry for new technologies and to experience the brand in different ways.”
Photogrammetry was used to scan the entire historic home in Asnières and then reconstruct it in 3-D. Iconic pieces from Louis Vuitton’s heritage collection are featured in the VR experience as well as representations of Louis Vuitton and his wife Clémence Émilie to immerse clients in the history of the Maison.
I’ve been lucky enough to have my artwork for Louis Vuitton on display at the historic family home in Asnières. In 2021, I was invited to reimagine the iconic trunk in Augmented Reality (AR) for “Louis 200” in celebration of Louis Vuitton’s 200th birthday. The artwork was featured in “200 Trunks 200 Visionaries” in Asnières, Singapore, Los Angeles, and New York City, as well as in store windows worldwide. The AR artwork will be on auction at Sotheby’s later this year with all proceeds to charity.
Both Asnières VR and Louis 200 immerse customers in the exceptional storytelling of the brand. It brings to mind a slide from a presentation by Sarah Willersdorf, Managing Director & Partner, Global Head of Luxury, BCG, stating, “The #1 reason for the New Luxury consumer to follow a brand is to ‘live in the universe they have created.’” Technologies like AR and VR make it possible to be fully immersed in a brand’s world and with Apple’s Vision Pro headset announcement this week, the opportunity for luxury brands to take customers on this journey is massive.
This is what I’ve dedicated the last 18 years of my career to (and the subject of my practice based Ph.D. dissertation back in 2015): exploring the new creative experiences AR, VR, and Spatial Computing enable. I’ve been building and dreaming in these mediums since 2005 and advise the biggest brands in the world as to how they can best utilize these technologies to engage with their customers.
Maxime Ausset, Private Client Relations & Client Experience Manager, Louis Vuitton described the Asnières VR experiences as “a logical extension of what we can offer in terms of client experience.” For now, the experience is available on the HTC VIVE VR headset, but I can’t wait to try it on the Apple Vision Pro.
Careful attention was paid to the digital craftsmanship of the Asnières Immersive VR experience, with Lead 3D Project Manager, Louis Vuitton, Nil Bouaouni describing it as “digital gold work.” This is exactly what I advise my luxury clients on when building these new immersive worlds. The quality of the digital assets and experience must equal, if not excel, the refined craftsmanship of the brand in real life.
Asnières Immersive will premiere at VivaTech 2023 next week. Watch the full video of the making of here.
I’ll be discussing Apple’s Vision Pro headset and the opportunity for luxury brands at the Financial Times “Future of Retail” event in London on September 19. Hope to see you there.
I consult and advise the world’s top brands on AR and Spatial Computing. Get in touch to learn more and/or book me as a keynote speaker for your next event.
