T&C Design Dispatch: Louis Vuitton Surprises in New York City and Venice

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Every two weeks, T&C puts together an assortment of the best design news and happenings— everything from interior projects that pique our interest to auctions of note, and must-have products on the market.

Louis Vuitton Opens New Activations in New York and Venice

Fans of the French luxury maison are in luck: this month, Louis Vuitton has two standout activations that allow consumers to immerse themselves into the fashion house's jubilant world.

In New York, Vuitton has transformed a seven-floor townhouse built in 1926 on Park Avenue to present Crafting Dreams. The exhibition features top-drawer home goods (including monogrammed plates!), iconic trunks, fine jewelry, exotic leather bags, and made-to-measure salons. Additionally, it also boasts standout pieces of contemporary furniture and artwork, such as the brand's "Cocoon Chair" by the Campana Brothers and "Totem Lumineux" standing lamp. While the exhibition is still, at the end of the day, a retail play, the contents within can easily be a source of design inspiration. Each piece, both fashion and design wise, telegraphs the fine craftsmanship and whimsy motifs valued at Louis Vuitton.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Fondation Louis Vuitton, the museum and cultural center supported by LVMH that recently had a very buzzy Mark Rothko retrospective, has invited the artist Ernest Pignon-Ernest to present an exhibition for the Venice Biennale. Since the 1960s, Pignon-Ernest has touched on the notion of "the foreigner" and frequently uses migrants and poets as subjects. The exhibition features two new portraits of the poet Russian Anna Akhmatova and the Iranian Forough Farrokhzhad.

Fanny Perrier Brings New Viltier Paris Showroom to Life

Paris is famously always a good idea. So, if you find yourself there, it's worth visiting jewelry brand Viltier's new Parisian showroom located at 46 Rue de Verneuil on the Left Bank. Of course, their signature pieces are enough to draw attention, but the interiors of the new showroom designed by Fanny Perrier of Studio Perrier surely help.

Inspired by the interiors of David Hicks and François Catroux, Perrier sought to evoke the eccentricities of the 1970s with bright colors and cheerful touches while contrasting antique and modern pieces. Some highlight furniture pieces include a marble console from Porta Romana, a zebra-print curule from Madeleine Castaing, and a 20th-century low chair inlaid with mother-of-pearl from Alain Demachy at Galerie Bellechasse29. The Dior Plissé couches in Viltier’s signature yellow hue were sourced from Baker Furniture and re-upholstered using fabric from Pierre Frey.

Salone, You Say? What T&C is Excited For.

Town & Country's Executive Style Director Erik Maza is heading to Salone del Mobile in Milan, the world's largest design fair. Some highlights to expect: Fendi Casa's modular "F-Affair" sofa, new collections from B&B Italia and Maxalto, Roche Bobois's collaboration with Jian Quinag, Dedar's expanded collection, and more. If you need a statement lamp, consider yourself lucky: Loewe revealed a collection of lamps made by 24 artists including sculptor Genta Ishizuka and ceramicist Dame Magdalene Odundo. They're on view at the Palazzo Citterio from April 15 to 21.

Three Questions With... Minnie Kemp of Kit Kemp Studio

The annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House is heading to New York City at the end of the month, and will find 24 interior designers from across the country transforming rooms within a townhouse on the Upper East Side in the name of charity. Ahead of the opening, the Kips Bay President's dinner took place at Ciprani 42nd Street, where Minnie Kemp, the design director of Kit Kemp Studio, donned a trompe l'oeil dress by Schiaparelli. There she gave a teaser to what her team has put together for the show house.

T&C: What can we expect from the room at Kips Bay?
Kemp: “A dining room of one’s own” is a space to wax lyrical with friends around a large dining table surrounded by color, art, and craft. I want you to feel transported to an English country house where the focal point is always a roaring fireplace. Tess Newall, a decorative artist from Sussex has been commissioned to create a mural that is representative of our love for all things Bloomsbury and we have been working with Tom Faulkner on a stunning “papillon” club fender upholstered in Kit Kemp x Christopher Farr “little weed” fabric. It’s a daring, unusual combination, but that’s what the Kit Kemp Design Studio is known for!

T&C: Did you do any experimenting?
Kemp: The walls are adorned with Kit's new fabric for GP&J Baker/Kravet “Front Row” in a jewel green color. This fabric design has a large repeat and was inspired by a textile kit found on her travels in Udaipur. It has taken almost two years to perfect the repeat, texture, and color combinations of the fabrics. I have also been experimenting a lot with wood; working with Schotten & Hansen wood specialists in Bavaria. The wainscot features my brand new collection of Douglas Fir veneers in bespoke colors. Experimenting with Torben Hansen in their workshop to create these bespoke colors was fascinating! I love the whistle and burrs of a working factory, seeing all the machines and piles of wood stacked, dusty dirty aprons and eyelashes with the thumping of steel-capped boots!

T&C: What is the biggest challenge of Kips Bay?
Kemp: All I can say is thank goodness we didn’t get a bathroom! The lead time is so tight, with only seven weeks to create the entire space, we had to knuckle down and call in a lot of favors to get the space complete in time. It’s pedal to the metal, but the Kips Bay team and sponsors have all been amazing! It’s all about teamwork and we are so lucky that we are surrounded by the best.

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