Creating Infinity – Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton Collaboration in New York

I am a huge fan of Yayoi Kusama. I love love love the infinity rooms she creates, and her work is so much larger than life. Kusama’s recent collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2023 has managed to flip the script and actually make her larger than life, quite literally.

Kusama at the Louis Vuitton Flagship Store on Fifth Avenue

These days Kusama can be found painting her signature polka dots on the Louis Vuitton flagship store on Fifth Avenue by day and by night, because that is how often I have been walking past the store to take this all in –

As if this 10+ storey rendition of Kusama is not enough, the creative powers that be at Louis Vuitton have a lifesize rendition of her in the store windows painting polka dots as well, only this one is so realistic that I had to do a double take to check if there was a real person in there – or not.

The store windows have turned all dotty in keeping with this collaboration with Kusama.

The LV store was not open when I walked past it this morning, but you can see it is all about the dots.

A couple of days later,even the sidewalk in front of the store was looking all dotty.

Louis Vuitton and Kusama Pop Up in the Meatpacking District

I then heard about a pop up for this Louis Vuitton and Kusama collaboration in the Meatpacking District, so of course I had to make my way there after work. The pop up was quite literally a Kusama infinity room, with LV products including bags, shoes, clothes and accessories such as scarves featured inside. It was quite amazing to soak it all in.

The cash register was all dressed up in polka dots as well, and so was the claw machine that had Kusama’s signature silver balls inside. Yes, the claw machine was a working one, and could be activated with tokens that were given based on purchases made at the Louis Vuitton pop up.

Kusama at Louis Vuitton Stores in New York

All the other Louis Vuitton stores are all dressed to match for this Kusama collaboration, though the colors all vary by store. Here are a couple that I have had a chance to check out below. This was the Louis Vuitton section at Bloomingdales –

The Louis Vuitton products pale in the shadow of Kusama’s work, though the campaigns with all the supermodels are very striking.

And here is Hudson Yards –

Cosmic Nature by Yayoi Kusama at the New York Botanical Garden

The last time I ran into Kusama was at the New York Botanical Garden, where she had an exhibition called Cosmic Nature. I loved it so much that I became a NYBG Member for it, and took all my friends to see it over multiple weekends in 2021 ( I almost said last year as I’m still in the getting used to the new year stage while writing this). Here are some of my pictures from that exhibition, though photographs were not allowed in the indoor infinity exhibit.

This was a really fun room at the NYBG where everyone got a flower sticker going in, and you could put it absolutely anywhere you wanted in this room.

Yayoi Kusama Infinity Rooms at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh

And then there was this time that I had to make a day trip to Pittsburg for a meeting, took a really early flight out so I could swing by the Mattress Factory – which is a contemporary art museum despite what it sounds like – and was the only person to take in these two Kusama infinity rooms. This was in contrast to the long lines to see the last set of Kusama’s infinity rooms in NYC.

Kusama branded La Grand Dame Champagne by Veuve Clicquot

My friends all know that I love Kusama’s work so much that they gifted me this La Grande Dame champagne for a milestone birthday recently. I still can’t bring myself to open this particular bottle, which sort of defeats the purpose, but then again I don’t want to ruin any of those polka dots on the seal.

I do know there is another Louis Vuittona and Kusama pop up in Soho as well for this collaboration, I hope to swing by there soon.

I missed the first collaboration between LV and Kusama in 2012 in NYC, so I am happy to have made up for it this time around. And it is amazing to have experienced so much of Kusama’s work on the streets of New York without needing to step foot in any museum.

#gottalovenewyork