Sometimes Blonde: Louis Vuitton Étoile Maison

Hot on the heels of openings in Singapore and Sydney, Louis Vuitton opens another stellar maison – its division of superflagships – in Rome. Illustriously called Louis Vuitton Étoile Maison, the new store measures a rather grand 1,200 sqm. and is housed in a three-storey landmark building that previously accommodated the historical Spazio Étoile, the city’s very first movie theatre.

Peter Marino, the new york-based architect responsible for Louis Vuitton store interiors across the planet, redesigned the buiding’s interior, retaining the visual drama by its impressive staircase winding around a wide open atrium that allows in floods of daylight.

Next to the interior, Marino also designed a series of furniture pieces for the store. Similar to other maisons, the Louis Vuitton Étoile Maison features special retail sections and merchandise, such as a bag bar, trunk room and its so-called Haute Maroquinerie line of leather goods. Obviously, the entire range of Louis Vuitton collections for men + women’s presented here. But what makes the roman maison unique is its 19-seat cinema which screens short movies by renowned directors.

Handmade cinema is a documentary produced by Luchino Visconti di Modrone and directed by Guido Torlonia, and marks the beginning of a project that emphasizes the history of the building and the new maison’s passion for the craftsmen of cinema. Additionally, there’s a partnership with the city’s prestigious Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia that aims to encourage the development of new film talent. The Louis Vuitton Étoile Maison opened with a massive party that pulled a large crowd of Vuitton dignitaries and glitterati from italy and abroad.
Images copyright by Louis Vuitton