Louis Vuitton has reopened its store on the corner of George Street and King Street in Sydney after 12 months of renovations.

The new George Street Maison offers men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories and designer travel and home-related objects in an art-filled, multistorey space designed by New York-based architect Peter Marino.

Located in an 1857 heritage building, the store retains many of the historical and landmarked elements of the edifice. One new addition is the suspended central staircase, which is lit from above and connects shoppers to the ‘women’s universe’, including ready-to-wear and shoes, on the first floor.

Women’s leather goods, watches, jewellery, travel, fragrance and accessories are located on the ground floor, while the ‘men’s universe’, including ready-to-wear and shoes, is on the lower-ground floor.

An upper storey houses the ‘apartment’, where the luxury brand can entertain VIP shoppers. The space includes a series of intimate salons, a gallery and dining area that are accessed privately.

In addition to the modern art and furniture displayed throughout the store, four antique Louis Vuitton trunks are presented in the travel area, illustrating the brand’s longstanding presence in this space.

They include a mail trunk in zinc, which was created in 1885 to house men’s clothing and shirts, a 1902 men’s trunk featuring the oldest existing covering on a Louis Vuitton trunk, a 1916 Aero Trunk that belonged to French aviator, Ernest Archdeacon, which was meant to be fastened to the gondola of a hot air balloon, and a hatbox purchased in 1937 by Lady Hannah Jones, the wife of the grandson of David Jones, the founder of the Australian department store.

Some of the international artists featured throughout the store include Gregor Hildebrandt, whose work made of cut vinyl records, canvas and wood by was commissioned especially for the store, Karin Laval, Vik Muniz, Peter Dayton, Richard Misrach and Thomas Struth.