For the first time in years, luxury French brand Louis Vuitton opens a limited-time only “Louis Vuitton Exotics” caravan in the heart of BGC. Featuring its finest collection of bags made of exotic leather, mostly croc skin, the caravan, which is open until June 29, requires clients to book an appointment to explore its beautiful merchandise.
By Alex Y. Vergara
The contrasts in inspirations couldn’t have been more stark, as French luxury brand Louis Vuitton presents a range of its finest handbags and shoulder bags made of “responsibly sourced” exotic leathers—mostly croc leather, but also classic as well as new iconic styles using python and ostrich skins.
In a serene, almost antiseptic setting far removed from the hustle and bustle of Bonifacio Global City, people at Louis Vuitton recently transformed an entire floor of Ore Central Building into caravan featuring a little over 50 bags.
Inspired by the turquoise waters of Medeira, the icy waters of Iceland, the rocks of Lake Tahoe and the lush vegetation of Brazil, the limited-time only store is now the setting of “Louis Vuitton Exotics,” where clients can book a private appointment to explore at leisure the exclusive collection. They can also choose from a variety of exotic skins and finishes to create a custom-made bag. The limited-time only caravan is open until June 29.
Among the featured bags that are noteworthy for their new exotic skin finishes are the Rainbow, Prestige, Denim, Aurora and Pink Rays.
Rainbow
Louis Vuitton offers this new finish, Rainbow, which pays homage to the colors of the rainbow as well as the colors found in natural precious gemstones. The colors’ intensity varies with the light of the sun. A gradient, for instance, appears soft and luminous orange in the center to fuchsia pink, to pretty shades of purple and deep ocean blue on the sides.
This eye-catching finish offers gold shade inter-scales and a golden-tone hardware making the Capucines BB a unique jewelry piece in and of itself. The color palette is also decidedly feminine, elegant and sophisticated.
Prestige
Another new exotic skins finish, the Prestige is characterized by the multiplicity of sophisticated colors displayed on croc skin. It revisits the famous Misty Purple (Fall 2021) with a new palette of seasonal colors while remaining faithful to the latter’s artistic technique.
The colors and patterns are inspired by the famous Pointillism artistic movement, wherein artists like Seurat, Signac and Van Gogh used to apply small strokes or dots of color to a surface so that, from a distance, the colors visually blended together. The mix of colors and the gold are also inspired by the minerals and their changing colors, depending on the hour of the day and sunshine’s angle.
Denim
Echoing the cruise denim animation is the Denim finish. To achieve this, each scale of the croc skin is decorated with different shades of denim blue. The finish draws its inspiration from the classic and raw faded denim fabric. Just like the jeweler who transforms natural raw gemstones and minerals into fine jewelry, the designer wanted to elevate the unrefined jeans to its finest form. The result? Denim using croc skin as its canvas. This beguiling mix of gradating blue shades makes the finish both precious, but also fresh and casual. Truly an ideal accessory for the summer.
Aurora
Pink silver Aurora, thanks to its new color animation, is decidedly one of the most eye-catching finishes in the current pop-up. As its name implies, the finish is inspired by the awesome beauty of the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. Also described as the “dance of the sky,” the phenomenon is captured in the Aurora with its constant changing colors that bring a magical effect on croc skin. Depending on where you are and how you look at the bag, its colors will shine differently, its changing effects getting lighter or stronger to the naked eye.
Pink Rays
Exceptional, too, in terms of gradient, the Pink Rays is inspired by a candy-colored sky emerging at dawn. The gradation it offers evokes that brief enchanting moment when the first rays of sunlight emerge through the slowly brightening sky, creating a contrast of pink and white.
The subtle color gradation, which is unique to each piece, creates a diffused glow, while the shiny finish reflects and captures the light on the leather that blends perfectly with croc skin. The soft white color, confined to the center of the finish, gives way to luminous pink shades, which are present on the inter-scales and on the sides of the skin. For the first time, rose gold hardware is used to adorn this finish.
In the Philippines, Louis Vuitton is located at Greenbelt 3 and The Shoppes at Solaire Resort and Casino.
