In late November, the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton launched its holiday campaign. This year, the Maison brought fantasy-inspired carousels to 5 cities in the world for a magical Christmas: Shanghai, Hangzhou and Macau in China, as well as Yokohama in Japan and Paris in France. Chinese audiences can book their visits to the carousels on the official Louis Vuitton Mini Program until 19 January 2025. The Shanghai location is at the Taikoo Li Qiantan, the Hangzhou carousel is at the Hangzhou Tower while the Macau location is at the Wynn Palace.
The vintage-looking carousels take inspiration from the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle where the brand’s head Georges Vuitton, son of founder Louis Vuitton created its display of the now fashion house’s signature trunks and luggage on a carousel-inspired velvety stage at the Grand Palais in Paris. The latest holiday campaign seeks to channel the brand heritage in both history and the city of Paris.
The carousels, with their colourful fin de siècle palette and steampunk aesthetics, sport animals such as giraffes, zebras and leopards as seats, reminiscent of zoos and circuses in the times of Jumbo and Dumbo. The animals and other parts of the carousels incorporate brand details such as its monogram patterns. Stores of the Maison will also feature carousel-themed window displays, as well as animal seats and mannequins sitting on top of them.
Pundits believe Louis Vuitton’s combination of immersive offline activations and concept instore window displays is an attempt to attract consumers back to its shops. The younger generations, especially Gen Z are buying less luxury while the number of luxury consumers shrank 50 million to 350 million in the past two years. Even high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are losing interest in physical luxury stores. The campaign is a combination of extending special occasion campaigns and optimising offline locations with design and experience.
