Virtual Louis Vuitton

La mode* has been on our minds a lot récemment* here at Lingua Franca with some of our more advanced students enjoying an entire term devoted to high fashion, as part of our new Club de Culture series.

In Week 2, we looked at the story of Louis Vuitton, from the very humble beginnings of the man himself to the multi-billion dollar juggernaut it is today as part of the LVMH conglomerate.

With owner Bernard Arnault duking it out with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for the title of the richest person in the world, no-one would have been choqué* had he, too, decided to enter the race to Mars.

However, with a strong personal interest in the art world as well as a mission to make art and culture accessible to all, in October 2014, la Fondation Louis Vuitton was opened to the world. Housed in a futuristic Frank Gehry-designed building on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne’s Jardin d’Acclimatisation, it has been off limits to us here in Australia until very recently.

Such are the marvels of technology, though, that even if you’re not yet ready or able to dust off your passeport*, you can still pay a visit. Whether to appreciate the collections à l’intérieur* or to stand in awe of the architectural wizardry of the building itself, it’s all au bout des doigts* and won’t cost you a single centime*.

Simply download the Fondation LV app, and choose the theme of your virtual tour. Be sure to change the language from English to French if you want the full immersive experience, or simply turn the sound off to completely drink in la richesse* before you.

PS A bit bored by the purity of the all-white structure? Go here to see how it was transformed in 2016 by French visual artist Daniel Buren.

*Fashion | *recently | *shocked | *passport | *on the inside | *at the tip of your fingers | *cent | *the richness