Louis Vuitton is one of the leading houses in the world of international fashion and its products include luxury suitcases, shoes, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses and books. With its unmistakable logo, the French company specialized in leather goods and fashion accessories is synonymous with innovation, modernity and above all a guarantee of style.
It was 1837, when the sixteen year old Louis Vuitton arrived on foot to Paris and began working as an apprentice to Monsieur Maréchal, where he soon became a highly regarded craftsman. At the time, during travel, luggage was handled with little delicacy and care. These were for Louis Vuitton, the optimal conditions for starting a highly specialized activity and the beginning of a career based on the ability to customize suitcases and trunks according to the wishes of customers.
The immediate success achieved by Louis Vuitton, led him to expand his business and to inaugurate, in 1859, his first Atelier in Asnières, which even today, is the place where the Louis Vuitton products are created.
At the end of the '800, the need to travel began to expand as well as the request to be able to transport their personal belongings. This is how the Vuitton trunk was born and with it the modern art of traveling. The trunk is easily transportable, from the flat lid and with a poplar structure on which is glued, with a process that makes it totally waterproof, a gray canvas called Gray Trianon of superior quality, but above all waterproof. The success is immediate and Louis Vuitton also devises a solution to help its customers protect the contents of their baggage, often targeted by thieves. It was thus that in 1886, together with his son Georges, he created an innovative closing system with five spring drums.
In 1872, to defend himself against the imitators, Louis Vuitton decided to introduce a red and beige striped pattern that could make his trunks easily identifiable.
Ten years later Louis Vuitton passed away and the group administration passed to his son Georges, who decided to design the beige and brown checkered pattern, known as Damier Canvas, with the inscription "marque L. Vuitton déposée", ie " L. Vuitton registered trademark ". Later, in 1896, he launched the famous Monogram brand, inspired by the oriental design of the late Victorian era, alongside the initials of the founder (LV), the symbols of flowers and four-leaf clovers. It will be the first case, in which the name of the manufacturer appears on the outside of the suitcases. The Monogram canvas will be registered in 1897 as a motif and in 1905 as a trademark.
The 1901 sees the launch of the first Steamer Bag, but it would be with the Speedy, the reduced version of the Keepal, that the soft luggage fall in the limelight world. It is the first bag in history to be both foldable and waterproof. A real revolution. From then on, Vuitton trunks are sold all over the world, and are the most loyal companions of great stars, such as Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant.
In 1936, after the death of George Vuitton, it was time for his son Gaston-Louis Vuitton to take control of the family business.
After the death of creative director Virgil Abloh in 2019, the development of Louis Vuitton men's fashion was first entrusted to an internal design team, then to Kid Super. In 2023, with Pietro Baccari in the role of president and CEO of the brand, the creative direction of the men’s line was entrusted to Pharrell Williams, already a witness for Chanel and a figure engaged in social, through the initiative Black Ambition in support of African and Latin entrepreneurs and with the label Humanrace he founded, with which he boasts collaborations including with Adidas.
