The partnership is an extension of some of Louis Vuitton’s previous Snap experiments, which began in 2019 when Snap returned late Louis Vuitton’s male creative director Virgil Abloh’s Keepall bag to AR. The brand already has lenses that include a Kusama-esque pumpkin face filter, and one that projects the artist’s dots onto users’ surroundings. This latest project was an effort to go even “bigger,” says Geoffrey Perez, head of luxury at Snap.
“We wanted to do something on a large scale, which also has a huge meaning: painting the greatest monuments in the world is also a statement, in the same way that Louis Vuitton painted its boutiques and stores,” explains Perez. “It’s a way for the Louis Vuitton and Kusama teams to show the bridge between online and offline; they digitally paint their dots above the real world.
By focusing on AR (over, say, virtual reality), brands and consumers can experience technology while remaining grounded in the physical world. “Augmented reality is connected to the ‘real world,'” says Perez. “AR is the healthiest way to think about the evolution of the web, rooted in real life and real humans – rather than escaping into virtual reality.”
Partnerships like this show “a return to storytelling” using AR, Perez says, after the pandemic caused brands to adapt to this kind of technology for more practical needs, such as trying on. the AR. “Covid has forced us to move to much more utility-oriented elements of AR,” says Perez. Today, post-lockdown and with more advanced technology, brands are able to use these two elements together. “It’s about inspiring and showcasing the artwork,” says Perez. “It shows how the world is a canvas. We’re just starting to paint the world, not just with colored dots, but with more utility-oriented options.
Expect more projects like these from luxury brands. “With this Louis Vuitton collaboration, they can see the impact of making the world a little more interactive and a little more fun,” says Perez. “The next step is to make it a little more useful.”
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