The History of Louis Vuitton
Classic, Timeless and Fashionable Handbags and Travel Accessories
A look at the development of the Louis Vuitton collection since its creation in 1854 and some of the most popular handbags to date.
Since 1854 the artisans at Louis Vuitton have been meticulously crafting quality leather goods. No matter what the year Louis Vuitton have successfully straddled the market for timeless classics and the newest trends.
Louis Vuitton Stores
Louis Vuitton, born in 1821. He opened his first store in Paris in 1854; it was followed 31 years later by a store in London. By 1977 these two stores alone were making annual sales of around $10 million. After a slow start, more stores quickly began to be opened. By 1989 there were 130 stores worldwide. The growth in popularity of Louis Vuitton was so great that between 1987 and 1988 profits rose by 49%. More stores followed in Beijing, Morocco, India, Russia and South Africa.
Louis Vuitton Handbags and Luggage
Louis Vuitton first entered the fashion world with their luggage line. In the age where more people were beginning to travel on cruise ships and trains and with the invention of the car, Louis Vuitton created a large flat case, a steamer bag and a large overnight bag called a Keepall. Their luggage range now contains travel accessories such as garment carriers, travel trunks, flight bags, laptop cases, vanity cases, dog carriers, hat boxes, jewellery cases, golf bags, diaper bags and passport covers.
Louis Vuitton is also a coveted handbag designer. In 1896 the now famous monogram canvas was created by George, Louis Vuitton's son. A print so popular that it was redesigned in 2003 in multicolour by Takashi Murakami and in 1999 in a miniature version of the print called the Mini Lin Monogram. In 2004 the Damier Géant collection was launched, a canvas made from technical fibres identical to those used for climbing ropes. In 1998 Marc Jacobs joined Louis Vuitton as their Artistic Director and created the Monogram Vernis line, embossed patent leather in a variety of colours.
Some LV Trends
- The Noe is a drawstring bag with a square base first created in 1932 to be able to carry four champagne bottles. An amusingly fortunate design, as 35 years later Louis Vuitton merged with Möet Hennessy.
- The Speedy is similar to the Keepall, but it's a handbag. It has one large compartment inside and grab bag handles. It's available in four sizes
- The Elipse is an oyster shell-shaped solid bag with grab handles. It's available in two sizes and also as a purse
- The Neverfull is one of the newest additions: a large beach bag style for city living. It's available in three sizes
- The Papillon is a barrel bag with shoulder straps, available in two sizes. The larger one comes with a mini replica to be used as a makeup bag
- The Cherry Blossom print was one of Takashi Murakami's limited edition prints. The most popular version showed cute little cherry blossom flowers with faces on top of the classic brown monogram print.
- The Theda, another limited edition, was a slouch grab bag available in several colours and prints with drawstring sides and a large buckle
- The That's Love collection has canvas rectangular tote bags with the word LOVE written on the front. The L and V entwine to make the Louis Vuitton monogram
Other Louis Vuitton Lines
In 1994 Louis Vuitton created their literature collection called Voyager Avec... In 1997 they created a pen collection and in 1998 the LV City Guides and scrap books. In 2001 the jewellery line was launched with Marc Jacob's charm bracelet. A year later the Tambour watch collection was launched. In 2006 the book Louis Vuitton Icons by Edition Assouline was published. In 2004 Louis Vuitton celebrated their 150th anniversary.
If you are interested in the history of other style icons, you may want to read about Chanel No. 5, Tiffany & Co and Manolo Blahnik.
