Louis Vuitton has turned luggage into an immersive experience at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka by way of a striking installation designed by OMA, led by partner Shohei Shigematsu. The work, which opened April 12, in the expo’s French Pavilion marks the third collaboration between the architecture firm and luxury brand, following exhibitions in Bangkok and New York.
Inspired by the Expo’s overarching theme “A Hymn to Love,” the installation celebrates Louis Vuitton’s craftsmanship through two contrasting spaces built entirely from the brand’s iconic trunks. The concept is unified by a central motif—the trunk—as both a historical object and a modular architectural element.
Marco Cappelletti, Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
The first room functions as a “library of craft,” with 84 stacked wardrobe trunks forming a glowing, lantern-like space. Each trunk reveals screens displaying artisan techniques, accompanied by soundscapes reimagined from the company’s historic Asnières workshop in France. A gradient of open to closed trunks transitions visitors toward the second space, where they’ll find 90 white Courrier Lozine trunks forming a massive 6.6-meter kinetic sphere. Animated by motion and light, the structure serves as a canvas for digital artwork by Japanese artist Daito Manabe.
Shigematsu describes the installation as “a juxtaposition of tradition and transformation,” offering visitors two experiences that reflect Louis Vuitton’s legacy of innovation and timeless design.
