When it was over, the audience cheered. It was official: Designer Nicolas Ghesquière had a rousing debut at Louis Vuitton.

This new chapter in the story of the 160-year-old brand began on Wednesday morning in a transparent pavilion in a courtyard of the Palais du Louvre. In the minutes before the show, the audience arrived to find dozens of silver blinds dimming the space. The low-rise seating was spread throughout the room — a landscape of ivory-colored knolls and valleys. At show time, the blinds opened wide and sunlight poured in.