Beyond the art of perfecting the craftsmanship of luxurious fabrics and environmental ornamentations lies the pursuit of The Experience. In other words, the only other ways one can perceive opulence from this point on are through the remaining senses of taste, smell and sound.
Of the three, the sense that stands out as the most innovative and contemporary to enhance in today’s technology-backed age is sound. The demand for sonic bliss alone — whether in private or communal spaces — is enough to put most maisons in a bind because nothing in their history books gives an inkling as to how the audience of today wants to hear their favourite music. Unless you are Louis Vuitton with none other than Pharrell Williams on the creative throne, then the sky is truly the limit — and this will not be the last of the house’s quality-driven side hustles.
The creation in question is Louis Vuitton’s New Portable LV Nanogram Speaker, which takes the savoir-faire of the house’s heritage trunks to outfit a powerful speaker that weighs a mere 520g and measures 13.5 cm across.
Shaped to rest like a spinning top, the aluminium body and colour-matched, metallised rubber ring accompanies three essential looks — timeless “Silver”; soft, natural “Copper”; and statement khaki green “Damoflage”, a limited edition colourway that was first seen in the creative director’s debut collection.
From natural cowhide leather handles to Louis Vuitton engraved steel studs that recall the fixings on the maison’s early trunk designs, the thought and research into delivering audible luxury could not be spelt out any more clearly. However, whether this rivals peers to take action is another question. What this sounds like is the start of luxury’s undeniable surround-sound influence on all future-forward industries — Louis Vuitton, in the lead, redefining what luxury sounds like one decibel at a time.
