Nicolas Ghesquière’s first pre-fall runway show for Louis Vuitton will happen on a bridge over storied waters.

The April 29 display in Seoul, South Korea, will unfurl after sunset on the Jamsugyo Bridge that spans the Hangang River — and with “Squid Game” director Hwang Dong-hyuk acting as a creative adviser on the show scenography.

It marks the primary time the double-decker bridge will host a fashion show, and kicks off a series of initiatives between the posh goods giant and native and national governments to advertise Korea and exalt the waterway, probably the most beloved and scenic elements of Seoul and a lifeblood for thousands and thousands of South Koreans.

It also represents one among the primary splashy initiatives of latest Louis Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer Pietro Beccari, who made spectacular fashion events in impressive locales an indicator of his tenure at Christian Dior. He began at Vuitton on Feb. 1, and brought Ghesquière on board so as to add a latest itinerant runway show to Vuitton’s playbook.

Beccari called Seoul a “cultural hub that continues to attract global attention” and a cosmopolitan city that “shares a standard spirit with Louis Vuitton for pioneering the long run, reimagining creativity and nurturing savoir faire.”

Disclosing details of the runway showcase exclusively with WWD, Louis Vuitton billed the event as global in reach, yet inclusive, engaging local talents and communities.

The brand characterised Ghesquière’s collaboration with Hwang as being “within the spirit of creative collaboration” dear to the designer, and reflecting “the need of Louis Vuitton to spotlight and showcase local culture and artistic excellence on a worldwide scale.”

Hwang’s “Squid Game” became one among Netflix’s most watched shows in history when it got here out in 2021.

For his recent Paris shows, Ghesquière, Vuitton’s artistic director of girls’s collections, has collaborated with French artist Philippe Parreno.

Vuitton’s pre-fall show shall be livestreamed on its social channels and on outdoor screens across Seoul. As well as, the brand plans to ask 100 local fashion students to be among the many 1,600 guests.

The federal government in South Korea has declared 2023-24 the Visit Korea 12 months, with the Korea Tourism Organization orchestrating various events, travel packages and promotional campaigns over the following two years.

For its part, Vuitton has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Seoul Metropolitan City and the Korea Tourism Organization. The French luxury goods house plans to work closely with the town government to advertise Hangang River.

For instance, it plans so as to add river attractions to the Seoul edition of its Louis Vuitton City Guide; install a book kiosk through the Jamsugyo Bridge Walking Festival, and take part in various short-term and long-term projects to preserve natural resources and improving biodiversity.

Once a vital trade path to China, the Hangang River today provides water to thousands and thousands of South Koreans and is an epicenter of leisure activities in Seoul, its banks lined with pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths, public parks and restaurants. Locals call it the Han.

In tandem with the Korea Tourism Organization, Vuitton plans to collaborate on quite a few projects to advertise Seoul and revitalize tourism, including a photograph exhibition.

Kim Eui-sung, deputy mayor of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said the town is gunning to draw as many as 30 million overseas tourists this 12 months.

“The partnership agreement is an incredible opportunity to share the fantastic thing about the Han River, Seoul’s representative tourism resource with infinite potential, with the world,” he said.

Kim Jang-sil, president of Korea Tourism Organization, noted that K-pop and other cultural exports are capturing fans all around the world.

“The varied cultural and artistic events held through the Visit Korea 12 months will showcase Korea’s cultural identity and sincerity,” he said. “The three-party partnership with Louis Vuitton and Seoul City is a wonderful opportunity to advertise Korea’s charm to the world, and we hope to garner meaningful results from this partnership.”

Louis Vuitton has a protracted history with South Korea.

It opened its first boutique in Seoul’s Gangnam district in 1991 and constructed a much bigger, full-fledged maison in the identical location with an otherworldly facade by architect Frank Gehry in 2019. The unit showcases all the brand’s categories and boasts an exhibition space and buzzy restaurant pop-ups from the likes of Pierre Sang and Alain Passard.

Vuitton’s roving “Volez, Voguez, Voyagez” exhibition landed in Seoul in 2017, the identical 12 months Ghesquière conscripted Ho Yeon Jung to model for Vuitton. Jung would go on to turn out to be a breakout star of “Squid Game” and turn out to be one among Vuitton’s global ambassadors. Korean actress Donna Bae has also appeared in Vuitton campaigns.

The brand also recently published a book from its Fashion Eye series about Seoul, with Dutch photographer Sarah van Rij capturing fleeting moments of on a regular basis life across the buzzing city.

Today, Vuitton operates 35 stores in South Korea, including 18 in Seoul.

The brand has a protracted history of staging fashion shows at architecturally significant landmarks around the globe. It staged a spin-off cruise 2020 fashion show in Seoul in a setting inspired by Gehry’s daring and experimental architecture.

The Jamsu bridge, accomplished in 1976 and only a couple of meters above the waterline, connects the districts of Yongsan-gu and Seocho-gu. A second and better level, safer during times of high rainfall, was added in 1982, in accordance with Wikipedia.