ITALIAN DAYS: After unveiling plans in Paris earlier this month for the Les Journées Particulières open-doors event, Antoine Arnault, director of image and environment at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, held a press conference in Milan on Monday evening to disclose the eight participating brands and locations in Italy.
These include Fendi at its headquarters in Rome with an exhibition dedicated to the first decade of the brand’s couture, including the latest designs by chief creative officer Maria Grazia Chiuri; Loro Piana‘s knitwear plant in Ghemme, Piedmont; Belmond Villa San Michele in Tuscany; the Thélios eyewear manufacturing plant; the storied Bulgari boutique in Rome’s Via Condotti; Cova in Milan with masterclasses dedicated to Italian pastry making; Officine Universelle Buly in Milan with a workshop dedicated to calligraphy at the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, and a visit to the Louis Vuitton footwear plant in Fiesso d’Artico, near Venice.
“I’m especially delighted to be holding this press conference here in Italy, which has always felt like a second home to us,” said Arnault, speaking at the Da Vittorio Café Louis Vuitton on Via Montenapoleone, with his brother Frédéric, chief executive officer of Loro Piana, also in attendance. “A home where elegance, creative freedom and boldness resonate with tradition but also innovation. One of the best homes to invite the public behind the scenes to discover the birthplace of unique expertise, to push the doors of exceptional places, and above all to meet those who bring our maisons to life every day.”
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Les Journées Particulières was launched in 2011 and returns after a four-year hiatus, running Oct. 16 to 18. Arnault said the group’s artisans were the first to ask for a new edition, “wishing to shine a light on their craft.” The artisans, he said, are the group’s “ambassadors,” eager to interact with the public, which “is a beautiful moment.” He underscored that the event is not targeted to clients, but to “naturally curious people. Everybody wants to be backstage. It’s natural to want to have a little peak into the secrets of fabrications.” He recalled how some children in 2011 attended the first edition and were so fascinated that they now work for the group. “We are creating vocations. Passion creates passion.”
The theme this year is “At the Source of Dreams,” and the event will feature 65 sites worldwide, which are being opened to the public by 46 LVMH houses.
The group operates 282 stores in Italy, has 18,202 employees in the country and 72 production sites.
