The fashion behemoth LVMH Group owns 75 luxury and spirit brands and is aggressively expanding into the hospitality industry. The Cheval Blanc Paris, opened in 2022, has proved to be one of the most popular luxury hotels in the city. Then, in November 2022, the group announced it was launching a series of Louis Vuitton hotels and restaurants.
Across the street from Cheval Blanc Paris, Louis Vuitton has opened in December 2022 LV Dream, a one-year pop-up exhibition with a café. The exhibition is an in-depth glimpse covering the 160 years of the history of the brand and the nine rooms display early pieces, such as steamer trunks, leather valises and furniture. The latter rooms showcase accessories and fashions from its collaborations with artists and fashion designers such as Stephen Sprouse, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami, starting in the early 2000s.
Upstairs is the café where Maxime Frédéric, the award-winning pastry chef from the Le Cheval Blanc, has created an exclusive pastry menu. The centerpiece of the café is a white marble counter where each of the beautifully decorated pastries and desserts is individually displayed on a pedestal and covered with a glass dome. Many of the pastries are cleverly decorated or embossed with the iconic Louis Vuitton logo and we decided it was essential to taste one of them.
The chicly designed space has burgundy leather banquettes decorated with vividly patterned throw pillows and tall, tropical ferns and plants. The black and white marble tabletops are set with red woven placemats, white Bernardaud china plates, jewel toned water glasses and elegant Christofle flatware. It was difficult to select a single pastry to indulge in since the menu offered a signature éclair, a lemon meringue tart, a pear charlotte and marble cake. We finally chose the chocolate entremet, a pastry with layers of crunchy biscuits with a rich chocolate filling and dusted on the outside with cocoa. It was accompanied by a frothy cappuccino decorated with the Louis Vuitton emblem on top. A selection of herbal teas, hot chocolate and a list of other chocolate treats is also offered.
Next to the café is a chocolate boutique selling tablets in milk and dark chocolate, glazed chestnuts, shortbread, macarons, ground hazelnut spread and its signature box of the Monogram Flower in four flavors.
On the same floor is a mini-Vuitton shop stocking clothing, fashion accessories, luggage, Louis Vuitton travel guides, and housewares.
Tickets are free for the exhibit, but you must reserve online at www.louisvuitton.com/lv-dream. You can visit the pastry bar, chocolate boutique, and accessories boutique independently without seeing the exhibit. The space is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through November 15, 2023.