Word: vuitton
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Takashi Murakami thinks it might be time to give the whole Louis Vuitton thing a bit of a rest. Best known for his giant, swirling, phantasmagorical canvases starring a cartoon imp named Mr. DOB, Murakami has long been Japan's hottest contemporary artist and an international art-world phenomenon. In the past two years alone, the 41-year-old painter had racked up a career's worth of milestones, including solo shows at the Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York City, the Serpentine Gallery in London, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary...
...those bags?not to mention Murakami's fame?have gone supernova. After whipping up a hive's worth of buzz at the Louis Vuitton fashion show in Paris last fall, and receiving rhapsodic reviews from the likes of Vogue and Women's Wear Daily, the art world's favorite son has suddenly found himself fashion's "It" boy, too. Though Murakami's bags have been on sale since spring, demand continues to humiliate supply, with shipments selling out before they hit showroom floors. Waiting lists in stores from San Francisco to Berlin still number in the thousands, and People magazine...
...Unfortunately, this dizzying fuss has caused a bit of a problem for Murakami. As he chats before going to a party to celebrate the construction of Louis Vuitton's newest store in Tokyo (the last such obligation he has to the company for a while, he is quick to point out), he is surprised at just how overwhelming the fashion frenzy has become. The crease in his brow, the nervous laugh, the fidgeting: Murakami is uncomfortable. Stroking his wispy beard as a Louis Vuitton minder hovers nearby, he's a touch concerned that too many people, especially in the West...
...exposure in being a fine artist. But there is also little distinction between high art and low art, and no cultural repercussions for flitting between the two. That's why he viewed this fashion foray as a perfect way to become better known in his own country, where Louis Vuitton is the godhead of the nation's real state religion: the worship of luxury brands. (Indeed, Japan accounts for one-third of the company's international sales). Mission accomplished: in Japan, Murakami is now magazine-cover, mobbed-in-public, rock-star famous?something that a million gallery shows could never...
Similarity was soothing once upon a time, when such corporations as Gucci and LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) began to rationalize the luxury-goods industry. The corporations bought up tarnished designer labels as if they were run-down English castles. They found themselves with a hodgepodge of real-estate holdings and stores. There was little consistency of design--and large corporations absolutely abhor inconsistency. Gucci and LVMH needed to establish firmly in the consumer's eye and mind exactly what each of their brands stood for. "Consolidation intensified the development of a spatial brand identity," says Michael Gabellini of Gabellini...