giant snakes and ladders board by bijoy jain backdrops louis vuitton’s menswear show in paris

bijoy jain creates stage for louis vuitton ss26 menswear show

A sprawling game board of Snakes and Ladders set the stage for Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2026 menswear show just outside of The Centre Pompidou. Conceived by Indian architect Bijoy Jain, founder of Studio Mumbai, the scenography reimagined the square as a playground of possibility during Paris Fashion Week, a giant geometric playing field animated by earthen hues and tactile details that visitors moved through and around.

Marking his first collaboration with Louis Vuitton, Jain worked closely with men’s creative director Pharrell Williams, who cited South Asia as a key inspiration for the collection. Drawing from the game’s ancient origins in India, Jain described his vision for the installation as ‘a cosmic diagram… like a mandala, set in the idea of a game where everybody has to ascend.’

the runway nods to the collection’s south asian inspiration

Studio Mumbai’s recognized architectural approach to design and context comes through in the set’s execution, composed of earthen tones and textures that elevate the beloved board game into a vast spatial experience. The show is staged across a sprawling 2,700-square-meter grid, with several vibrant serpents cutting through, their paths crossing with textile-rendered ladders that beckoned ascension. During the evening the soft palette glows beneath the Pompidou’s iconic postmodern facade. ‘That’s set in this idea of a game where everybody has to ascend,’ notes architect Bijoy Jain.

project info:

name: Louis Vuitton SS26 Menswear collection

fashion brand: Louis Vuitton | @louisvuitton

set design: Bijoy Jain — Studio Mumbai