Vancouver: Louis Vuitton opens Canada’s first Maison
Canada’s most stylish came home, if you will, to Vancouver to fete the opening of the country’s first Louis Vuitton Maison (730 Burrard St., 604-687-4644, vuitton.com). The revamped Hotel Vancouver store, the fourth Maison in North America and 12th in the world (other Maison cities include San Francisco, Tokyo, London, and, of course, Paris), features an installation work by Vancouver artist Steven Shearer, as well as a glossy “bag bar” and, finally, the complete ready-to-wear collection. Rumour has it the company spent a cool $1.5 million on the soiree, but such is the cost of the party of the year, non? A cocktail reception at the store was followed by to a “journey” to a secret location. Translation: A short trip on a 70-year-old steam engine train to the Rocky Mountaineer station. Redone for the evening as a historic train station, it housed vintage Louis Vuitton trunks (which security guarded all night, naturally), served as a stage for Oscar– and Golden Globe–winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, and as the playground of 500 of the country’s most stylish guests and loyal clientele—which include one of the current faces of Louis Vuitton, Gabriel Aubry.
. The revamped Hotel Vancouver store, the fourth Maison in North America and 12th in the world (other Maison cities include San Francisco, Tokyo, London, and, of course, Paris), features an installation work by Vancouver artist Steven Shearer, as well as a glossy “bag bar” and, finally, the complete ready-to-wear collection. Rumour has it the company spent a cool $1.5 million on the soiree, but such is the cost of the party of the year, non? A cocktail reception at the store was followed by to a “journey” to a secret location. Translation: A short trip on a 70-year-old steam engine train to the Rocky Mountaineer station. Redone for the evening as a historic train station, it housed vintage Louis Vuitton trunks (which security guarded all night, naturally), served as a stage for Oscar– and Golden Globe–winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, and as the playground of 500 of the country’s most stylish guests and loyal clientele—which include one of the current faces of Louis Vuitton, Gabriel Aubry.[gallery columns="5" orderby="title"]){kind=link}