Louis Vuitton and Alex Israel are back, and this time the California Dream actually rolls. The Woody Wagon Colognes gift set packs all six colognes from the Parfums de Cologne line into a sculptural, wood-panelled station wagon that looks like a miniature museum of the West Coast. Built by 60 artisans over more than 7,000 hours, it is made from mahogany wood with deep brown tones and visible grain, paired with the house’s semi-aged leather in natural beige. The Monogram motif is subtly engraved on the wooden doors, and the wheels are decorated with Monogram flowers. It is limited to 66 pieces worldwide, a nod to Route 66, and priced at €9,000, or about $13,500 CAD, with pre-orders starting July 2 and delivery in late September.
The partnership between the maison and Israel dates back to 2019, when he first helped shape the visual and emotional language of the Cologne collection. His work has always been about a candy-coloured, pop-saturated version of Los Angeles. For this release, he and head perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud treat the Woody Wagon as a mobile landscape, a way to carry the whole collection through a single, very Californian icon. Israel says the car is about freedom: a surfboard on the roof, family in the back, the Pacific just over the next hill, and, in this case, the family is the six Cologne perfumes.
Alongside the wagon, Louis Vuitton is also releasing three translucent resin travel cases for Sun Song, California Dream and Afternoon Swim. Each case is clad in a colour gradient that matches the fragrance’s vibe. The travel cases are €950 each, or about $1,425 CAD, with each version limited to 100 pieces.
If you are already thinking about which corner of your shelf this will dominate, the answer is probably the same as the one you give when someone asks where you would drive with a full tank and a clear road: somewhere with the ocean on one side and an endless horizon on the other.