Louis Vuitton New Sydney Store VIP Party

Early today luxury brand Louis Vuitton opened a new store (Louis Vuitton George Street Maison) in Sydney, Australia, and this was followed up this evening with a VIP party with a healthy amount of celebrities and other VIP's on hand, along with about 30 media personnel covering the black carpet outside the building.

The Louis Vuitton George Street Maison, understood to have cost in the region of $10 million, will deliver three-storeys of men's and women's fashion, plus "personalised services".

The iconic French fashion brand enjoyed its VIP opening in Sydney earlier today with Australian actress Cate Blanchett getting a bit of media rub off from the event today.

Tonight many more celebs were present with the list including Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones guitarist), Melissa Doyle, Miranda Kerr, Erika Heynatz, Delta Goodrem, Isabel Lucas, Megan Gale, Laura Bingle, Heidi Middleton, Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Samantha Harris.

Company CEO Yves Carcelle was on hand at both events, and was Oceania CEO Philip Corne.

Mr Corne advised the new development had been a long time coming for the brand, which now has 10 stores across the nation.

"We wouldn't commit to the investment until we found the right space that allowed us to present the brand as we should," he said.

Corne understands that his brand is high end luxury and not for everyone: "People have worked hard and are rewarding themselves."

As Time magazine once said, it was the French who "practically invented the notion of luxury in the 17th century, and in the 18th century, when Marie Antoinette took up residence in Versailles, and added her own twist to the genre". After conducting a survey on global luxury, the magazine concluded Europeans regard "luxury as a means of expressing their individuality and style while placing high authenticity and pedigree".

In Sydney apparently there is a group of cashed up consumers who don't mind spending up on luxury goods.

A big congratulations to top brass Yves Carcelle, Philip Corne, Jean-Baptiste Debains and their team for putting on a great day and evening event.

Louis Vuitton cool and hip tips: we understand that the company sometimes creates very limited amounts of personalised goods. How about a guitar case for Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, a surfboard and surfboard cover (what pro would actually use that) and even a skate-board and cover (good luck with Maroubra Beach Skatepark local boys). When LV talks "personalised services" and "personalised products", they aren't kidding.

Websites

Louis Vuitton www.louisvuitton.com

Louis Vuitton (Australia) www.louisvuitton.com.au

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Eva Rinaldi Photography www.evarinaldi.com

Splash News www.splashnews.com

Media Man News www.mediamannews.com

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