From a childhood passion for magic to shows in Las Vegas and prestigious clients such as Vuitton, Meta, Disney and Netflix, from Singapore to Dubai, Paris and New York, the Liège-based company Levita is ramping up its international expansion by establishing a presence in the United States.
A phone call to arrange a meeting with the Liège-based magician Clément Kerstenne, co-founder and CEO of Levita, and they end up in… Hawaii. This gives an idea of how far the young company has come. “We’re working with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta,” he begins. “They’ve launched smart glasses in collaboration with Ray-Ban. Late last June, they contacted us to organise an entertainment act for an event in New York. They wanted us to make thirty pairs of glasses fly. We rose to the challenge. The event featured high-profile guests such as Kylie Jenner, the most-followed influencer on Instagram. Kylie posted about us. That’s huge! Mark Zuckerberg loved it.” He is about to open a major Meta shop in Hawaii. “Mark wanted the glasses to be flying off the shelves everywhere. Within thirty-six hours, we’d decided to head to Hawaii. Eighteen pairs of glasses fly off the shelves in the shop window. Passersby stop to look. The shop was absolutely heaving.” Levita’s collaboration with Meta in the United States is only just beginning, as more shops are set to follow.
But how did two young men from Liège, Clément Kerstenne and Philippe Bougard, both passionate about magic, become the kings of the world of floating objects in shop windows? In 2011, whilst still students – Philippe Bougard studying insurance and Clément Kerstenne studying veterinary medicine at ULiège – they created a DVD about their favourite subject. To market it, they founded In The Air, a corporate magic company, the following year. They put on around a hundred shows a year across Europe and hoped to make a living from their passion. Their promotional magic services company quickly built up a client base. Right from the start, major brands and companies such as Hublot, BNP Paribas Fortis, Lego, Total, Mercedes and Spa were involved. “At the end of the show, the emotion lingers. How can we inspire a wide audience to dream ?” they asked themselves.
Making objects fly in shop windows
In 2018, the idea of automating their shows was born. “We thought that if we could make objects fly in a shop window, it would have a huge impact,” recalls Clément Kerstenne. To transform a magic trick into a show without human involvement, they needed to develop a product capable of making an object levitate without a magician. “We cobbled together a prototype. By working with design firms such as iol Strategic Design and Taipro Engineering, we managed to bring our idea to life: making an object float whilst concealing the technical and electronic components completely.” This collaboration resulted in their first kit, ‘Gravity Windows’. Four wooden boards, motors, an electronic circuit board, and a bit of knowledge about magic. The object hovered in mid-air – the potential was there. Creative professionals receive grants from Wallonia to help them carry out their projects. Today, ‘Gravity Windows’ – now known as ‘Gravity Display’ – is primarily aimed at the retail and events sectors.
Later that same year, the company Levita was founded, with the aim of selling promotional magic products. A high-end Swiss watchmaker contacted the Liège-based team because it wanted to trial this innovation in its watch shop in Singapore. "In six months, we had to go from prototype to finished product. All of a sudden, we were playing in the big leagues. Presenting our product in Singapore was a source of immense pride !” A second order from the same watchmaker followed for Macau, then a third for Dubai. Clément Kerstenne trained under mentors at the Liège-based incubator Venturelab, an ecosystem supporting student entrepreneurs. “We’ve gained experience and built up a great network.” The company works with various consultants. “We surround ourselves with highly skilled people who support us at every stage.” Since then, Levita has been constantly approached by the most prestigious companies.
From Sotheby’s to the Paris Olympics, via Vuitton
In 2021, the multinational auction house Sotheby’s commissioned its services. “For the Queen’s Jubilee, they wanted to create an exhibition and have seventeen crowns from the British royal family flown in – those from the coronations of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, and the one worn by Lady Diana at her wedding to Prince Charles...” It was a three-month exhibition in London.
In 2022, another major project was set up for Louis Vuitton. “We developed a work of art : a trunk that bursts into sixteen pieces to showcase all of Vuitton’s craftsmanship.” This project was due to last two months. Four years on, it is still there. “It’s the centrepiece of the Louis Vuitton exhibition on the history of the famous trunk in Asnières. A real source of pride.”
In July 2024, to mark the Paris Olympic Games, Levita was approached by Omega, a sponsor of the Games, to have watches ‘fly’ in its Paris boutiques. “The entire sporting elite, the big names of the Paris Olympics, came to admire them.” Shortly before that, they had received a phone call from the Olympic Games organisers. “They asked us to put on a private magic show during the VIP reception – attended by President Macron, Bill Gates and others – at the Trocadéro, in front of the Eiffel Tower, just before the official opening ceremony. We’ll never forget that highlight.”
Whilst Levita operates in the luxury sector, it also works with major technology and industrial companies, “leaders in their fields, such as Nike and Adidas. We’re breaking into new markets, but only with the best in their sectors. To achieve this, our board meetings and working sessions are attended by key decision-makers.”
Giant popcorn in Times Square and magical effects at Disneyland Paris
Since last year, the Liège-based company has also been branching out into entertainment. Launched in 2026, the new entertainment product is called Magic Space. “For two years, we worked on developing the technology with Deeeper, an engineering firm based in the Liège region. We realised that the market was huge. Amusement parks, massive shows, prestigious events and major exhibitions had long dreamt of making objects fly and creating a sense of wonder.” Earlier this year, Levita helped create the special effects for a musical performed in Hong Kong. “Then we started talking to major players like Disney.” In April 2026, they were approached by Disney Films for the launch of the film Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which set them a spectacular challenge: to make a giant, three-metre-tall piece of popcorn levitate above Times Square in New York. This extraordinary feat captivated thousands of fans and generated tens of millions of views on Instagram. “With Magic Space, we’ll be working alongside show directors, set designers and stage directors to develop the best possible set designs.” For example, for the Théâtre de Liège, the company worked on a play in which a woman died. “To symbolise the fact that her soul was still there, as the director intended, we made her dress float. We use our levitation expertise to serve the story.” From September, Levita will be collaborating with Disney Paris. “There’ll be magical levitation effects in the shows there !” enthuses Clément Kerstenne.
Over the last two years, Levita has experienced rapid growth, rising from a turnover of €700,000 in 2024 to nearly €2 million in 2026. “We are aiming for €4 million in 2028 and €8 million in 2030. Part of this will come from the retail sector, and part from the entertainment sector. This is a market that has been growing rapidly for years: theme parks, major Las Vegas shows, musicals on Broadway and in London, and large-scale marketing campaigns.” The company currently employs 17 people. “In January 2023, we switched to a four-day working week. As creativity is so important to us, we had to rethink the way we operate to remain creative.”
Setting our sights on the United States
In just a few years, the Liège-based company has undergone unprecedented international expansion. London, Paris, Shanghai, Dubai… “Never before have we felt such strong interest from clients. In recent months, we’ve been in talks with the biggest names in entertainment, such as Netflix and Disney… We feel that our expertise – developed over the past twenty-five years through In The Air and over the last seven years in levitation with Levita – is unique in the world. We are making our creative expertise available to the biggest names.” As a result, the magic company is accelerating its growth. “To support our expansion, particularly in the United States, we are in the process of raising €650,000, which is due to be achieved by the end of the third quarter of this year. We need to invest in trade shows, fairs… We are also looking for key strategic partners who know the entertainment sector inside out and can support us in our development.”
Today, the management’s aim is to maintain a company on a human scale, with the team needed to successfully deliver the most spectacular international projects. “Our aim is to inspire people’s imaginations and to be able to become a permanent fixture in major shows such as those in Las Vegas or on Broadway. That’s where our strength lies. We need to have a presence in Paris, Shanghai, Dubai, across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. We need permanent offices on the ground, capable of selling projects and managing a stock of equipment.” Having a presence in the United States has become essential. “It’s planned for 2027. We’ve had projects for Nike in Las Vegas. We’ll soon be involved in shows there. Opening a representative office in New York is part of our strategy. The US market is huge. We can count on great partners such as AWEX to support us. Key partners. We’re proud to be able to share our passion. Today, seven years after Levita’s launch, we still haven’t been copied.”
This article was written by Jacqueline Remits for Revue W+B No. 173.
