Ahh… Louis Vuitton, don’t even get me started.

First of all, there’s the pronunciation. Being more familiar with the English language than French, it rolls off our tongues easier as loo-eez instead of loo-ee. And then there’s the invariably hefty cost tagged on their bag-of-the-moment, but wait, surely, that ain’t the same ware the auntie at the pasar malam stall is selling?

You see, Louis Vuitton is really a huge mystery. At least to me. Its monogram is one of the most copied brand symbols in the world, and everyone I know knows someone who owns a counterfeit. The price tags never fail to make me swoon. So does their advertising campaigns and the thespians they employ- Scarlett Johansson, Sean Connery and Dakota Fanning.

But other than that, what is there to know?

That’s when Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation, steps into your world to challenge all that you have ever known of this French fashion house.

Presented in the Hong Kong Museum of Art from 22 May – 9 August 2009, this exhibition chronicles Louis Vuitton’s sartorial finery and its bold punctuations in fashion.

Started in the mid 19^th century as a retailer of luggage, it incorporated fashion and durability etched with its omnipresent LV symbol into each trunk and bag. On display are trunks from the 19^th century made for aristocrats as artifacts. When exploration and voyages transpired in that era, Louis Vuitton was meticulous that his creations endured travels by the sea and rail and of course, time.

A predilection for a vogue sybarite, Louis Vuitton can come across as unattainable and possibly archaic, but with its induction of American designer, Marc Jacobs as its Creative Director in 1997, collaborations with contemporary Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami and designer Stephen Sprouse (remember cherry blossoms and the words “Louis Vuitton” in scrawl?) brought about a mélange of graffiti and popular art into fashion and design.

In 2006, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy appointed famed Canadian-American architect, Frank Gehry to design the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation, a museum in Paris. The 127 million dollar project is an etch of their foray into contemporary design.

From its days as a leather and luggage connoisseur, the Louis Vuitton corporation is altruistic to venture into architecture, prêt-a-porter and books today, stamping an artistic presence in the world as prominent as its monogram itself.

Well, till the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation is completed, let’s just head down to the flagship store in ION Orchard.