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According to 2020 estimates, Louis Vuitton is the ninth most expensive brand in the world. It generates $15 billion annual sales in revenue. It is safe to say that a 10-year-old Louis Vuitton could have not imagined, while assisting his stepfather with his business, he would build a world-famous brand and, after 166 years, this brand would become one of the greatest in the luxury goods industry. The name Louis Vuitton evokes images of richness. The French fashion business has marketed exceedingly pricey baggage marked with its signature interlocking LV logo for more than a century.
Louis Vuitton products, which have always fallen under the “if you have to ask the price, you probably can’t afford it” umbrella, have been extensively marked up and presented as symbols of wealthy snobbery. Vuitton, who was born in 1821, founded the company in 1854, and died in 1892, has been such an integral part of the high-fashion industry for so long that it’s easy to forget he was a real person. Here are some interesting facts about the man behind the logo, in commemoration of what would have been his 200th birthday.
10. A humble man from a village became a fashion designer
Louis Vuitton was born in a little town in eastern France in 1821. His father worked as a carpenter, while his mother made hats. Louis’ parents died while he was young, and he had a strained relationship with his stepfather. Vuitton left home when he was 13 years old, having grown bored of his house atmosphere. The future fashion designer walked to Paris. Over two years, he walked 292 kilometers and worked various jobs along the route.
After arriving in the capital, Louis went to work for Marechal, who was making travel trunks for the elite during the industrial revolution. Louis Vuitton worked with Marechal for 17 years. From 1853, Vuitton worked as a personal box-maker and packer for the Empress of France, Eugenie de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte III, who introduced him to several other famous and prominent customers. They ended up being the ones that kept Louis employed until the conclusion of his career.
9. Louis Vuitton learned his trade early on
Louis Vuitton founded his own company and opened his first store in Paris in 1854. Vuitton invented the ideal trunk shape at that time: it was flat, with no rounded edges or superfluous frills. Vuitton’s suitcases were also watertight.
Louis Vuitton had to open a new workshop in Asnières-Sur-Seine due to rapid expansion. This workshop had only 20 employees initially.
The designer’s products became well-known around the world and set a benchmark for quality and dependability. Louis Vuitton opened his first store in London in 1885, followed by stores in New York and Philadelphia.
8. Louis Vuitton developed some impressive connections
Having a personal box-maker and packer was the height of luxury in the nineteenth century, and Vuitton fulfilled that enviable and highly specialized role for none other than Napoleon III’s wife, Eugénie de Montijo, again the Empress of France at the time. Vuitton was in charge of packing the Empress’s garments for travel in style. Vuitton and his products officially became a part of the era’s elite class as a result of this remarkable job.
The family has ties to the French Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Nazis during the occupation in WWII, according to Stephanie Bonvincini’s book “Louis Vuitton, A French Saga,” published in 2004. According to the book, not only did the corporation profit financially from its contacts with the Nazis and the Vichy administration, but they also created photos of Pétain, the Vichy France Chief of State, to boost his image.
“This is ancient history,” said LVMH, a French luxury goods giant that bought Louis Vuitton in 1987. The book covers a time when the company was run by a family and before it was acquired by LVMH. We’re diverse, tolerant, and everything else a modern business should be.”
7. The birth of the ‘LV MONOGRAM’
The brand is recognized for being extremely picky about its designs. Each piece is made with such care and attention to detail that its unique striped pattern and color combinations have become synonymous with the brand. However, as the brand’s fame grew, so did fake goods, prompting Louis Vuitton’s son, Georges Vuitton, to design the renowned Louis Vuitton Monogram, which features three floral designs and the founder’s initials intertwined.
The now-iconic monogram first appeared in 1896 and has since become a perennial favorite among those seeking the ideal blend of luxury and functionality. Working with the founder’s initials, the “LV” monogram, when combined with angular shapes, became one of the most coveted monograms of all time. Paul Poiret, the Rothschild family, and Wallis Simpson were among the celebrities who used Louis Vuitton luggage and trunks. Louis Vuitton trunks and luggage became a mainstay on the opulent vacations and excursions of society’s elite with the development of the jet-set culture in the 1960s. The Speedy, Noé, and Boite Chapeau are three new styles introduced by the firm as it expands into other areas of luxury products. Louis Vuitton became a must-have for the fashionable customer because of its top-notch branding and signature styles.
6. Louis Vuitton’s trunks had a unique design and fine testing
Vuitton created his first branded steamer trunk in 1858. The design was significantly more useful than the circular trunks that were fashionable at the time since it was watertight, flat, and easy to stack. Surprisingly, Vuitton’s first designs didn’t have the iconic LV monogram, instead opting for a tough grey canvas known as Trianon.
All Louis Vuitton products are subjected to stringent quality controls. The bags are loaded with three and a half kilograms of weight and put through a series of tests, including dropping them from a height of around half a meter for four days in a row. To ensure that the material used in the production is resistant to fading, it is subjected to a UV light bombardment and, to also ensure that the zippers on the bags work properly while in the hands of a consumer, they are tugged open and shut roughly 5,000 times.
5. Louis Vuitton’s products have always been counterfeited
In 1876, Louis Vuitton devised a striped canvas pattern for his luggage. He created the Damier print, a classic checkerboard pattern that the fashion house still employs today. Vuitton established these patterns in part to combat counterfeiting, which existed before the LV monogram was created.
LV bags are not only water-resistant but also fire-resistant. The LV bags are unquestionably timeless as a result of this. This means, if you buy a Louis Vuitton bag today, you will be able to use it for at least another 20 years. Apart from the age-old brand name and heritage, this is one of the reasons why LV bags are so pricey. Hold your breath because this information isn’t easy to take in. If any LV products are not sold at the end of each season, they are returned to the company’s factory in France and shredded or burned, to preserve the item’s worth and brand class.
The majority of Louis Vuitton items on the market are counterfeit. Keep an eye out for the handles and piping of the bags to determine whether or not your LV bag is genuine. Original LV bags have cow-hide leather handles and piping, which is naturally a light tan color. The stitching is yellow and the edging is colored crimson. The leather handle is designed to darken into a darker brown after a few weeks of use. If it doesn’t, it’s a fraud.
4. Louis Vuitton kept his business in the family
Louis Vuitton has always been a family-owned and operated company. Georges Vuitton, Vuitton’s son, created an ingenious lock system for his father’s trunks in 1886. The locks were so strong that Georges challenged Harry Houdini to break out of a locked Vuitton trunk, well the great magician and escape artist declined to respond. The lock design of the junior Vuitton is still in use today. Georges developed the iconic LV monogram as homage to his father in 1896, a few years after Louis’s death.
The advent of the Franco-Prussian War and the following siege of Paris, which led to a violent civil war which destroyed the French Empire, disrupted Vuitton’s business in 1870. Vuitton returned to Asnieres after the siege ended on January 28, 1871, to find the village in ruins, his staff dispersed, his equipment taken, and his business ruined. Within a few months, he had erected a new shop at 1 Rue Scribe. With the new address came a new emphasis on luxury. Rue Scribe, which was home to the famed Jockey Club and had a significantly more aristocratic vibe than Vuitton’s former location in Asnieres, was located in the center of the new Paris. Vuitton debuted a new trunk style in 1872, with beige canvas and crimson stripes. The new style, which was basic yet sumptuous, appealed to Paris’ emerging elite and heralded the start of Louis Vuitton’s contemporary incarnation as a luxury brand.
Vuitton remained at 1 Rue Scribe for the next 20 years, creating high-quality, luxury luggage until his death on February 27, 1892, at the age of 70. The Louis Vuitton brand, on the other hand, would not die with its namesake. The Louis Vuitton brand would evolve into the world-renowned luxury leather and lifestyle brand it is today under his son Georges, who invented the company’s famed LV monogram, and future generations of Vuitton’s.
3. From luggage, to handbags and sneakers
In 1930, Louis Vuitton launched the ‘Speedy,’ their first leather handbag, and they never looked back. The brand expanded to include fashion pieces, accessories, and a perfume line in 1997. For their high-end clients, they still manufacture unique pieces, and their entire luggage and bags are handcrafted by highly trained artisans.
There are currently 460 Louis Vuitton boutiques across the world, making it one of the most profitable luxury brands in the world. Is it, however, worth the exorbitant price tag? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
2. Louis Vuitton didn’t design clothing
With the help of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, Louis Vuitton began to grow into ready-to-wear in the twenty-first century. Marc Jacobs has been the creative director of the historic house since 1997, with notable collaborations with Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, and Yayoi Kusama. In 2013, the designer left Louis Vuitton, paving the way for Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière’s forward-thinking vision.
The company looks to its distinct past while exploring the future under the vision of the French designer. Virgil Abloh was named creative head of menswear at Louis Vuitton in 2018, a highly anticipated appointment that has cemented Abloh’s place in the world of premium fashion. Louis Vuitton has grown from humble beginnings in its founder’s singular expertise to become a leading luxury house with an unwavering focus on streamlined accessories and a striking monogram.
1. The ALMA bag by LV
One of the most sought-after bags and iconic designs of the fashion brand is the Alma bag. Gabrielle Chanel, the brand’s originator, and namesake wore an Alma at one point in her life. Apart from her inventions, it was the only LV purse she ever favored.
The company manufactures customized things on occasion. Diana Vishneva, a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Ballet, had a unique suitcase made for her, which may be seen above with her specialized trunk.
Bags and cases are made from natural leather and a variety of textiles created specifically for the brand. The boutiques of the brand provide a unique ambiance in which each item is presented in its finest light. Only business districts and premium trade malls are home to the stores. Some Louis Vuitton items are only offered to VIP customers.
Final takeaway
I hope you enjoyed learning about Louis Vuitton’s history and facts. Please tell us which Louis Vuitton accessory is your favorite.
