Louis Vuitton‘s latest iteration of the pop-up gift shop and bookstore format, which was first launch at Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek last October, has turned up in Beijing.
Titled “Beijing Fun,” which is a phonetic play on “Beijing Vibes,” the pop-ups cover four key tourism destinations, lifestyle hot spots, as well as retail destinations in the Chinese capital.
From the Forbidden City to the epicenter of Beijing’s contemporary art scene, the four stops weave through ancient and modern Beijing by running across the city’s second to fifth ring-shaped roads.
The four locations, including the main 798 Cube pop-up, as well as smaller pop-up bookstores at Drum Tower, Liangma River and the heart of Beijing’s CBD, allow the brand to target different demographics and are easily recognizable with red exteriors, a principal color of the city.
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“‘Beijing Fun’ represents Beijing’s attitude and personality, as well as its charm,” the brand said in a press release.
“To understand a city, we may probably start with its ‘fun’….It’s a chance to discover the city’s soul, and uncover the stories that make Beijing so unique,” the brand continued.
The timely pop-ups are also meant to create a dialogue between Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics, and Paris, the host of this year’s Summer Games.
In a nod to the Olympics spirits, the latest City Guide Paris Sport edition and City Book Paris were made available in the Beijing pop-ups. The latest Louis Vuitton City Guide Beijing and Louis Vuitton City Guide Paris also made their debut on the bookstands.
This year’s Louis Vuitton City Guide Beijing is guest edited by Philip Tinari, director of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, a true Beijinger who started his career in the city more than two decades ago.
“Beijing is a city of layered histories and happy discoveries. Anyone visiting would do well to walk aimlessly through the Hutongs, observing this unique form of urbanism and daily life,” Tinari said.
“Beijing is also a postindustrial city, full of converted factory compounds — 798, Shougang, Langyuan and many others which house the city’s dynamic creative economy,” he said, recommending a job along the Liangma River or cycling along the Wenyu River as authentic ways to experience Beijing.
“People who don’t live here may not realize how green Beijing is, or how close it is to some incredible natural landscapes,” Tinari said.
To celebrate Louis Vuitton’s city-wide takeover, the brand hosted a party on Tuesday night at 798 Cube, with a special performance by the legendary Beijing rock band New Pants. Guests included Olympic champions Eileen Gu and Su Yiming and Chinese celebrities such as Bai Jingting, Guo keyu, Ma Di and Gao Xiaosong.
The 798 pop-up, located at 798 Cube, is open to the public from Wednesday to July 28, the rest of the pop-ups run from Thursday to Monday.
An online version of the pop-up bookstore also launched on Douyin, which will be promoted with the help of the platform’s influencers.
Visitors on the ground can sign up for a series of cultural and sporting events, including ping-pong games, paddle yoga, city cycling, Beijing temple tours, via Louis Vuitton’s Xiaohongshu and WeChat accounts.
“Louis Vuitton [Extended],” the mega brand’s first Chinese podcast series, also unveiled its latest program that spotlights Beijing.
The first episode explores the particular sounds that evoke the history of Beijing. It is cohosted by the Chinese fashion columnist Huang Hung and Colin Siyuan Chinnery, the artist and cofounder of Sound Art Museum. The second episode will feature Gao Xiaosong, a famous Chinese songwriter and director.
