For Design Miami.Paris 2024, Louis Vuitton presents an unprecedented exhibition to celebrate the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection and the Maison’s long-standing collaboration with Estúdio Campana.
Steadfast allies of Louis Vuitton since 2012 behind some of the most iconic designer pieces of the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection – from the Cocoon seat to the Maracatu suspended cabinet –, Estúdio Campana celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024. For this occasion, Louis Vuitton, official partner of Design Miami.Paris 2024, will hold an unprecedented exhibition at the LV Dream space based on two themes: a celebration of the work of Estúdio Campana and a showcasing of a Louis Vuitton apartment. This is an opportunity for the Maison to present its design tradition, highlighted in its Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collections. These bold contemporary creations, inspired by the art of travel, have been conceived in collaboration with the greatest international designers since 2012.
The celebration of Estúdio Campana
On the groundfloor of the exhibition, the Objets Nomades designed by Estùdio Campana are brought into the spotlight in all their poetry. Humberto Campana remembers being impressed by these iconic trunks when first discussing a collaboration with the Maison: “Examining one of Louis Vuitton’s first trunks created in the 1850’s, I immediately drew parallels with my creations, especially in terms of innovation, quality and creativity,” explains the Brazilian designer. “Louis Vuitton didn’t simply set out to design a trunk. He reinvented the object, creating a structure with a flat top and bottom that would make it easier to stack and transport. I relate to his bold approach on a deep level: the determination to leave the beaten path, to depart from one’s comfort zone.”
A masterful application of colour, the use of fine materials, and the demonstration of excellent craftsmanship bring out the artistic beauty of each Objet Nomade designed by Estúdio Campana, thoroughly influenced by the heritage of Louis Vuitton.
“Even the Monogram canvas of 1896 – with its quatrefoils and flowers inspired by the Orientalist designs of the Victorian period – reflects our attraction to cultural diversity in our own creations,” explains Humberto Campana.
The exhibition naturally includes the Bomboca with its puffy shapes inspired by clouds (2017), the Bulbo chair with its strange yet captivating tropical flower shape (2019), the Merengue seats with their swirling leather petals (2022), and the free-hanging Maracatu cabinet, which was the first of the Campana brothers’ contributions to the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection in 2012. Inspired by the folk costumes of northeast Brazil, this nomadic travel cabinet is hung with multicoloured strips of leather. The display includes a screening of the film We The Others (2024), which traces the life and work of Fernando and Humberto Campana since the studio was founded in São Paulo in 1984. They have gone on to make a name for themselves in the world of design thanks to their visionary creativity, significantly inspired by traditional Brazilian culture.
Cocoon Couture
For this occasion, Humberto Campana revisited the Cocoon chair – an iconic piece of the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection created in 2015 – with six one-off pieces inspired by mythical figures of Brazilian folklore and crafted by haute couture artisans. The Cocoon is bedecked in exquisite elegance, with inspirations ranging from the terrestrial to the aquatic realms, from natural habitats to the animals that live within them. Cocoon Couture expresses, more than ever, the fusion of creative design and the most exacting craftsmanship. Here, Humberto Campana conjures the mysticism of Brazilian mythology: the cocoon levitates like a nest on the verge of taking flight, evoking the full extent and diversity of the legends of his native country.
To fulfil the vision of these exceptional new pieces, Humberto Campana had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most prestigious artistic workshops of the fashion world. Leather sequins, feathers, beads, golden embroidery… Each one-off explores lavish textures like never before. Their extravagant textures and refined materials transform each object into a hanging work of art.
The array includes the Jaci model, spangled with more than 11,000 brass studs and copper coils.
The Cocoon Couture Matinta, based on a mysterious figure of northern Brazilian folklore that metamorphoses into a nocturnal bird, is entirely cloaked in feathers in shimmering tones ranging from blue to black, individually selected and hand-trimmed before being layered like scales to adorn this mysterious, surrealist evocation. This majestic version is crafted by Lemarié workshop.
The Cocoon Couture Curupira, named in honour of the fabled guardian of the Brazilian rainforests, required more than four weeks of work by six artisans. They hand-embroidered each enamelled stone and then applied a river of more than 40,000 sequins in Indian crochet. The Cocoon Couture Iara, representing the mythical mother of the waters, features a jacquard patchwork painstakingly stitched with more than 4,000 glass tubes to evoke rippling liquid, a task that took more than 274 hours.
The Cocoon Couture Boiuna, depicting a legendary snake believed to live in the rivers of the Amazon, required the intervention of ten artisans. They hand-cut and shaped leather sequins before individually applying them like iridescent scales to cover this extraordinary work. These three versions were crafted by the Amal worksho.
Then there is the Cocoon Couture Boto, inspired by a mythical creature of the Amazon that metamorphoses at the edge of the raging river at nightfall…
The embroidery workshop Vastrakala – founded in India by Jean-François Lesage – bedecked a fur sheath with metallic gold bullion embroidery.
These exceptional craftsmen, skilled in techniques both ancient and innovative, worked to execute the vision of Humberto Campana: to conceive of each Cocoon as a legend in its own right, imbued not only with excellence, but also with dreaminess and sensory indulgence. “This 2024 edition unveils the transformation of the Cocoon, allowing it to reinvent itself,” explains Humberto Campana. “The piece can become anything: an animal, a plant, a piece of jewellery… To me, it is a very representative work for the 40th anniversary of Estúdio Campana, carrying our message of renewal and celebrating life.”
Cabinet Kaléidoscope
Within the exhibition, the new Kaléidoscope Cabinet will also be unveiled, composed of more than 500 colourful pieces of leather marquetry cleverly arranged to form a trompe l’œil through an artisanal process that required 200 hours of work. This spectacular object opens with concealed handles to reveal several storage spaces and shelves lined with precious leather on the interior, in the spirit of the Maison’s historical trunks and desks where treasures could be concealed.
With Humberto Campana, the soul of the trunk emerges through this hypnotic object and the imaginary world that it evokes: “In a way, our work also embodies travel – through cultures – in the spirit of Louis Vuitton’s 19th-century work,” the designer continues. “It’s like being able to navigate the memories and emotions captured in these objects so that they become the recipients of our affection that may be passed down from one generation to the next. It is therefore no surprise that each signature Louis Vuitton piece appears to be a family heirloom. That is the precise feeling to which we aspire.” A majestic, graceful Objet Nomade produced in a limited series of eight, the Cabinet Kaléidoscope explores the infinite possibilities of leather.
The Louis Vuitton apartment
The exhibition continues with a showcase of a signature Louis Vuitton interior, particularly highlighting its new table art collections to constitute a comprehensive setting in the Maison’s style.
The first room sets the tone with the Signature sofa and chair designed by Franck Chou, innovative pieces with elegant, flowing lines. In the next area, Binda armchairs by Raw Edges, in a combination of soft velvet and leather, are surrounded by Basket coffee tables by Zanellato/Borlotto. Game tables and sports objects join in to fully illustrate the playful spirit of the Louis Vuitton art of living. Trunks, fabrics, cushions, books and vases embellish each space.
The dining tables are laid with the new Tableware collections. The Constellation porcelain services bring a fun artistic touch in reference to the Monogram, while the formal Splendor set – with a sparkling trompe l’œil effect recently revealed at Vaux-le-Vicomte – is arranged alongside the Rivet cutlery collection, inspired by the studs historically featured on trunks; as well as Twist glasses and Flower carafes, which are hand-blown in Murano.
Louis Vuitton trunks – crown jewels of its savoir-faire – are naturally present in each space, with the Thé and Café trunks being the most prominent. In the bedroom, a Dolls chair by Raw Edges is arranged with a Bell lamb by Bell Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, the Coiffeuse trunk, and the Bed trunk.
Each space is a reminder that design has always been integral to the history of Louis Vuitton, which is proud to celebrate its tradition of special orders. Each of these has been based on the desire to bring along the comfort of home while travelling. As early as 1885, Louis Vuitton invented the Bed trunk for the explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. In 1930, Georges-Louis Vuitton designed a desk trunk for the orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski. From the art of travel to the art of dreaming, this exhibition – exclusively conceived for Design Miami.Paris 2024 –offers a total immersion in the art of living of Louis Vuitton.
Practical information:
The Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades exhibition will be held at LV Dream, as part of Design Miami.Paris, from 16 to 20 October 2024 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Information and booking: LV DREAM | LOUIS VUITTON