Louis Vuitton was born in 1821 in Anchay, France to a family of joiners, carpenters, and millers. He left home at the age of 13 for Paris and apprenticed as a box-maker.
At the time he began his own company, Maison Louis Vuitton, in 1854, trunks and chests were rustic, sturdy, heavy, and unrefined. They often had an exterior casing of leather, usually pigskin, with the bristle to the outside, the scent of which would impregnate everything inside the trunk. Travel trunks were also impractical because they had domed lids which did not stack.
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| Four Historic Canvas Trunks: Trianon grey 1854, striped canvas 1872, Damier canvas 1888, monogram canvas 1896 |
In 1858 Louis Vuitton created a lighter weight, sturdy, elegant and functional trunk covered in Trianon Grey waterproofed canvas with a flat top that could be stacked in a train's baggage car or the hold of a ship.
As travel changed, luggage changed. In 1890, Louis Vuitton invented an un-pickable 5-tumbler brass lock with a unique serial-numbered key.
But what really made Louis Vuitton trunks unique, was the principle of designing the trunk around the objects that it would contain, rather than trying to fit objects into an existing trunk design.
A tradition which carries on today.
In 2009, Sophia Coppola designed a day bag with Louis Vuitton that is practical and attractive.
She said, “I wanted a bag that I could use every day that was coming from the heritage of Louis Vuitton’s great leather goods, not connected to the fashion side of the brand.”
“We went through a lot of prototypes but it was fun. It was always exciting to get a new one and I would try them out and add things.”
Historic... and modern. Behind all the hype, still, actually, a great bag that lasts.
Great Reading:
Photos: 1.-2. Louis Vuitton Archives 3. Louis Vuitton Archives photo by Antoine Jarrier 4. Photo by Naotoka Kumagai 5. Louis Vuitton Archives, photo by Patrick Gries 6.-7. Louis Vuitton Archives 8.-10. Photo by Annie Leibowitz 11.-12. Louis Vuitton Archives 13. Darryl Carter design, photo by Gordon Beall 14. 15. via Brabourne farm 16. Sean Connery by Annie Leibowitz for Louis Vuitton 17.
