Amid a menswear boom, Louis Vuitton opens its first men’s boutique
Although the maison’s menswear line is available at other boutiques, a dedicated men’s flagship store will open in Tokyo, Japan.
Louis Vuitton menswear flagship store located in Miyashita Park, Tokyo. (Photo: Louis Vuitton)
In recent years, luxury brands have been courting male shoppers, as the menswear market continues to grow. According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the global menswear market is expected to register a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.7 per cent during the forecast period of 2020 to 2025. This growth can be attributed to the popularity of streetwear and athletic-wear in recent years, which gave male consumers more options beyond the traditional tailored suit.
With menswear growth expected to outpace womenswear in the coming years, some of the world’s biggest fashion houses, including Prada, Gucci and Dior have responded to the trend by opening men’s-focused stores in the past few years.
The latest to dedicate a standalone boutique to all things masculine is Louis Vuitton, which will open its first men’s flagship store in Tokyo, Japan on July 6.
Located in Miyashita Park in Shibuya, the store extends over two storeys. It will offer the entire Louis Vuitton men's line-up as well as special collections across accessories, footwear and fashion. It will also include jewellery, fragrances and other store exclusives.
With crowd control and safe distancing being requirements amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, advance reservations are needed to enter the store in its opening weeks. Applications have to be made on the Louis Vuitton website.
Louis Vuitton has been investing heavily in menswear over the last couple of years. Its biggest investment came in the form of hiring streetwear specialist Virgil Abloh in 2018 as creative director of the men’s line.
Abloh has seen much success in Japan, which was among the first markets to have access to his designs when they launched in 2019. Abloh made his Louis Vuitton debut in Tokyo, where items were launched at a pop-up store even before they hit the maison’s global boutique network. The Tokyo pop-up alone outsold Vuitton’s extremely popular collaboration with Supreme (in 2017) by 30 per cent.
Other prominent menswear designers in the luxury sphere include Kim Jones at Dior Men, and Hedi Slimane at Celine. Most recently, Givenchy named Matthew Williams, founder of luxury streetwear-inspired label 1017 ALYX 9SM, as its new creative director.
