Louis Vuitton has unveiled the look of its proposed superstore in Beverly Hills: two windowless three-story buildings designed by Frank Gehry that resemble a white lotus flower.
The Paris-based luxury retailer drew the curtain on plans to build the 45,000-square-foot flagship emporium on the site of the failed 109-room Cheval Blanc hotel project at 468 Rodeo Drive, the Beverly Hills Courier reported.
The fashion house owned by luxury goods conglomerate LVMH hired Gehry, who designed such sculptural buildings as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain.
It also tapped interior architect Peter Marino, famous for his flagship store designs for Dior and Chanel, according to Hypebeast. He also led interior design for the Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills project originally proposed for the block-size site.
The result is a proposed Louis Vuitton store with two building buildings linked by two pedestrian bridges with a white facade and “sleekly angled curves,” according to the Courier.
The building will have a rooftop deck with trees and two inner courtyards, with black VL logos at the top of petal-like, overlapping flutes, according to a rendering.
A ground floor will include a cafe and an exhibition lobby, with two floors dedicated to retail goods and a rooftop level with a 100-seat restaurant and open-air terrace.
The store will house women’s and men’s collections, beauty products, watches and jewelry and travel-related merchandise bearing the Louis Vuitton fashion name.
“The new location will take visitors into a full Louis Vuitton lifestyle experience showcasing its diverse universes of products and one-of-a-kind client experiences,” Vuitton said to Women’s Wear Daily.
Pending approvals, the Louis Vuitton emporium could break ground next year and open in 2029.
LVMH bought the existing retail building at 468 Rodeo Drive once occupied by Brooks Brothers in 2018 for $245 million. Four years later, the firm won approval from the city’s Planning Commission to build a luxury hotel.
But in June 2023, Beverly Hills voters nixed the proposal to build a 109-room Cheval Blanc luxury hotel by a margin of 80 votes after labor union Unite Here Local 11 had gathered enough signatures to trigger a citywide ballot measure.
LVMH, run by the world’s richest person, Bernard Arnault, is now focused on building the Louis Vuitton flagship on the 1.1-acre lot, between Rodeo and Beverly drives.
— Dana Bartholomew
