Louis Vuitton doesn’t do things by halves – and their latest exhibition, Visionary Journeys, proves it. Unfolding across the sleek black cube of the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, this is no dusty archive tour. It’s a five-story, light-soaked, trunk-studded odyssey through 170 years of fashion, fantasy, and the brand’s long-standing obsession with Japan.
Timed to coincide with World Expo Osaka Kansai 2025, Visionary Journeys is part heritage tribute, part haute-couture fever dream. Curated by fashion historian Florence Müller and dream-scaped by architect Shohei Shigematsu (of OMA fame), it’s a love letter to Vuitton’s past, present and Japan-soaked future.
You enter through a glowing forest of Monogram washi paper columns (yes, they made lanterns out of trunks), then step into a trunk hemisphere – 138 cases forming a cocoon of imagination. It’s giving spaceship meets steamer trunk. From there, you’re off: 12 themed rooms explore everything from Asnières roots and expeditions with zinc luggage, to kawaii collabs with Kusama and Kawakubo.
The ‘Louis Vuitton and Japan’ room is a cultural mic-drop. Think tatami mats floating mid-air, mirrored on the ceiling, with everything from tea ceremony treasures to Takashi Murakami mashups on display. Bonus: spot pieces loaned from Japan’s top museums, flexing the House’s deep artistic ties.
If materials are your thing, prepare to nerd out. One gallery deconstructs the sacred quartet – wood, metal, leather, and canvas – with sensual tactility and rotating Monogram rings suspended like a cosmic LV constellation. Nearby, testing rooms star “Louise” and “Louisette” – adorable torture devices that ensure your bag survives life, the Tube, and at least three international airports.
There’s also a dedicated Atelier Rarex space, showcasing bespoke red-carpet showstoppers made for Met Gala royalty, with the Maison Vendôme recreated as a fashion dollhouse. Oh, and if you’ve ever fantasised about owning a Stephen Sprouse graffiti clutch or Supreme x LV streetwear, the final “Collaborations” dome will send you into cardiac couture arrest.
Open until 17 September, this show is a maximalist, magical celebration of craftsmanship, travel, and cultural connection. Basically, it’s Louis Vuitton saying: here’s our history, let’s have fun with it.
Pro tip: Don’t leave without nabbing the limited-edition Visionary Journeys catalogue or exhibition notebook. Or better yet, pre-order the new Louis Vuitton Japan book before it inevitably becomes fashion’s next coffee table must-have.
Tickets? Book fast. This isn’t just an exhibition – it’s the trunk show to end all trunk shows.
