For several weeks strange dotted waves rose from the ISETAN floor in Tokyo. For the ones familiar with it, there was no doubt; Yoyoi Kusuma had arrived.
This pop-up installation celebrates the collaboration between the iconic Japanese artist and French luxury brand Louis Vuitton. This fusion is obviously a success in Japan for two reasons. First, Japanese girls are fond of Louis Vuitton products. In Tokyo they are everywhere – even the beach! Second, there is a strong sense of pride amongst Japanese girls that Yoyoi hails from their home country. Furthermore, right now Kusama may very well be the most popular Japanese artist worldwide. For all these reasons, the collaboration is a major event in Japan and is echoing across various industries and geographies.
And you can follow the echo from shop to shop: after Isetan the “Comme des Garçons” vitrines in Ginza were contaminated by dots too.
(and as indicated above, the echo has spread worldwide where we find similar happenings in Paris, New-York, Singapore…)
Louis Vuitton solidifies their success by transcending beyond the physical product line and carries us into Kusuma’s world through digital tools:
A website:
And a smartphone app:
The website is quite amazing; very easy to navigate, with value-added content and images. For the app, it’s a bit of a different exercise and many brands have struggled to master it. Despite the good design, the content and purpose falls short, and ends up being quite deceptive.
However, once again, Marc Jacobs has demonstrated he knows how to renew a luxury brand, as evidenced by the craze he has stirred up in Japan!
August 22, 2012 at 11:05 am
Wow, just when you think she couldn’t be even more of a sell-out… along comes another brand tie-up by Ms. Kusama…
PS. Sorry to be a pedant but the headline currently reads “Yoyoi”.
August 22, 2012 at 11:30 am
thanks for the catch. It’s fixed now.