La Fondation Louis Vuitton: A Strategic Maneuver 

Bernard Arnault, President and CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, collaborated with Canadian-American architect, Frank Gehry, to create a new museum in the Jardin d’Acclimation.  Extensive and costly renovations were estimated to be approximately 158 million Euros.  The French cultural center has been dedicated to artisanal crafts and traditions, and is located in the Bois de Boulogne in the former Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires (MATP), an ethnographic museum which has been classified as an historical site.  Since the MATP is classified as an historic site, it cannot be sold.  The city of Paris struggled to find a new tenant willing to undertake massive renovations of the defunct building.  Therefore, Arnault has agreed to a 50-year lease at 150,000 Euros per year in order to create a new museum, which is housed in a building adhering to sustainable development codes.

The building is located just 300 meters from Arnault’s Fondation Louis Vuitton.  Inaugurated in 2014, it was also designed by Gehry.  By transforming the MATP into a lucrative asset, Arnault has increased visibility of the Fondation Louis Vuitton.  For example, welcomed more than 1,200,000 visitors to its Chtchouckine collection.  It has also strengthened awareness for the LVMH brand universe, further highlighting the importance of artisanal work and exceptional craftsmanship inherent to the brand’s DNA.  Over a three year period, the MATP will be subsequently renamed La Maison LVMH / Arts – Talents – Patrimoine.  The 13,600 square-meters of usable space includes exhibition rooms, gallery spaces, an artisanal workshop welcoming resident artists, an event hall, and a rooftop restaurant.

The collaborative efforts between Arnault and the city of Paris could be viewed as a strategic maneuver. Geographical expansion of the mogul’s empire would not be farfetched, especially after its aggressive and failed attempts to acquire Hermès in 2010.  Designed by architect Jean Dubuisson (1914-2011) in collaboration with Michel Jausserand and Olivier Vaudou, Georges-Henri Rivière’s MATP officially closed its doors to the public in 2005, and its 250,000 art objects were transferred to the Musée des civilizations de l’Europe et de la Méditéranné (MuCEM) in Marseille. Since its closing, the MATP has fallen into a state of disrepair due to conflicts with the city of Paris and the Ministry of Culture.  The city of Paris hopes to decrease its debt burden with these recent collaborative efforts between Arnault and Gehry.

Author: Jewel K. Goode.  Global Communications Specialist, Writer, Art Curator, and Photographer