Cover Edmund Ng, Mandeep Chopra, Loh May-Han and Adrian Ng
Edmund Ng, Mandeep Chopra, Loh May-Han and Adrian Ng
1 / 1
In the first Tatler House Dialogue of 2025, we gathered art and luxury collectors at the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up for a conversation on the intersections of luxury and pop art, the evolution of cultural trends, and the collaboration that changed these industries forever over 20 years ago
Last Friday, Tatler hosted our community of esteemed art collectors and enthusiasts in the Unesco-recognised precinct of Joo Chiat, where a jubilant blend of pop art and luxury came to life in a kaleidoscopic shophouse—the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up. Despite the thundery skies, guests arrived with warm, bright smiles as the main retail space quickly came abuzz with conversation and excitement around the 23-year-old collaboration between Louis Vuitton and iconic Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami.
Guests were taken on a tour of the pop-up, alternating in their intimate groups between the Cinema, where remastered Superflat Monogram and Superflat First Love films by Takashi Murakami played; the Care Station where craftsmen were on hand to care and repair Louis Vuitton x Murakami original archival creations; and the cotton candy-pink Café, adorned with Murakami’s signature Superflat Garden smiley flower cushions and monogram mirror tables. All this, as they shopped all the pieces available from the Re-Edition collection's first chapter featuring the Superflat Panda—an adorable character that perched on everything from washed blue OnTheGo PM Chain and black skateboard, to a Mini Square Trunk; while the Monogram Multicolore of 33 different colours on white canvas marked items like puffy slides, The Speedy 25, The Venice, and The Vanity Pouch, which flew off the shelves.
After bagging these highly collectible goods, guests were then ushered to their seats for a panel discussion on the intersection of luxury and pop art, the evolution of cultural trends, and how this iconic collaboration redefined classicism in fashion and design. The first Tatler House Dialogue on 2025 featured panelists Edmund Ng, long-time art collector and founder of Edmund Ng Architects; and Mandeep Chopra, art collector, streetwear expert and founder-CEO of Limited Edt.
The panel began with an introduction by Aymeric Lacroix, the general manager of Louis Vuitton Singapore and Malaysia, who welcomed our guests and shared the significance of this pop-up. “This pop-up is one of seven in the world, and the only one in Southeast Asia”, he said with pride. “Art and culture is a part of our DNA at Louis Vuitton.”
Dana Koh, executive editor of Tatler Singapore moderated the panel, where Ng shared how the original collaboration ingeniously connected luxury fashion to pop art, drawing in a new audience of contemporary art enthusiasts. “Art is not a consumer product, nor is it readily available”, he explained, “but when you place it on a luxury consumer product, it flies off the shelves—it becomes wearable art and a collectible of its own.”
Mandeep Chopra, Jazz Chong, Dana Koh and Paige Parker
1 / 12
Ng, who is an avid art collector with a deep appreciation for Murakami's work, brought an interior design and architect’s perspective to the discussion. His home proudly displays three one-metre-tall Murakami sculptures, embodying his fascination with the artist's ability to juxtapose structure, colour and fluidity—a theme that resonates deeply with his architectural practice and artistic sensibilities.
Chopra also noted that when the collaboration first launched, it had broken down many barriers between art and consumerism. “Now there are no rules, from art and luxury to collaborating with streetwear brands and musicians,” he reflected, before telling the story of how he acquired a pair of rare Nike Air Force 1 Low “RTFKT - Murakami Drip” sneakers. “Back then, everything was kept at arm's length and boxed into its own category, but this collaboration brought a fusion that all those worlds needed.”
As a leader in the luxury streetwear market, Chopra’s insight proved particularly illuminating, given his expertise in collaborations catering to newer generations of increasingly discerning collectors with varying perceptions of luxury, novelty and collectibility.
“It was—and continues to be—a catalyst for many unexpected collaborations between the realms of fashion, art and luxury,” Koh mused, before posing a question to the audience: “Display versus wear–how do you savour such collectible, wearable art?”
Germaine Leonora Tan and Andrew Li
1 / 17
After the mic was passed around the audience to get in on the panel, sharing personal stories of their Louis Vuitton x Murakami "happy" pieces from the original collection two decades ago, guests then got back to shopping and winning limited edition gifts from the vending machine, which included Takashi Murakami Flower Go Walk portable game and trading cards—ending the night on an even more playful high.
The experiential Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up will run till 19 January 2025. To visit this universe, which not only celebrates an iconic collaboration that made history but also houses stories of happiness and style in the form of wearable art, register your interest online here.
NOW READ
What went down at Tatler’s Louis Vuitton ‘Queen Bee Shopping’ afternoon with Layla Pi and friends
