The true story of Louis Vuitton, the man who became a luxury brand

Two hundred years ago, on August 4, 1821, a talented boy named Louis Vuitton was born in Anchay, a small French town. He was the son of a hatmaker, who died when he was barely 10 years old, and of a peasant father who remarried shortly after becoming a widow, something that marked him in his childhood and made him leave his parental home at only 13 years old to move to Paris.

Legend has it that he made the 470-kilometer journey on foot, and it took him two years, during which time he lived in shelters and did odd jobs to eat.

Surely at that time he never thought, not even by chance, that his name was going to become synonymous with luxury: in the 21st century his LV monogram heads a company whose subject matter is glamor and is considered the most valuable in the world, according to BrandZ Global.

The one who had vision of the future was Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III: she hired him in 1853 as her exclusive manufacturer of suitcases and trunks. She was his first celebrity client. And a sign of what was to come.

Over the years, personalities from all walks of life and generations would pass through the Vuitton universe: Diego Maradona, Angelina Jolie, Naomi Campbell, Jennifer López, Catherine Deneuve, Keith Richards, Kim Kardashian and David Bowie, among many more. The list of those who have a Vuitton outfit, be it a wallet, a bag, a backpack or a suitcase, is endless, and includes our Susana and Cristina.

Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, hired him in 1853 as her exclusive manufacturer of suitcases and trunks. She was his first celebrity client.

Not to mention the always excessive Wanda Nara, who happened to be a VIP guest of the brand in Paris when it was held last year at Fashion Week, in addition to the fact that a few months ago, she exhibited a pink Twist Bag model, which sells for about 600,000 pesos.

But minute by minute, star names continue to be added. For example, the young French actor Timothée Chalamet, spoiled child at the last Cannes Film Festival and representative of the genderless generation (without defined gender), did not want to miss the dinner that the brand organized a few weeks ago in Paris to show its new men's collection. created by the African-American Virgil Abloh, one of the designers of the moment (he is David Beckham's favourite).

The French firm is one of the most influential on the current fashion map, which includes Paris, Milan and New York, but also Shanghai, Moscow, Dubai, Sao Paulo and Berlin, where the upper middle classes need show your difference with the uniform mass that follows the fashion.

It has been known for a long time (and you don't have to be an expert on the subject to realize it) that Vuitton is much more than the latest model handbag worn by celebrities on red carpets, models on the covers of magazines and influencers on social networks.

The famous French surname is currently synonymous with art and not only because of the alliance it has made in recent years with prominent artists. He has a Foundation in Paris (in the Bois de Boulogne, precisely), with a museum included, dedicated to contemporary art.

The building was built by Frank Gehry and cost $143 million. There is an organic sculpture (with live plants) by the Argentine artist Adrián Villar Rojas.

The famous French surname is currently synonymous with art and not only because of the alliance it has made in recent years with prominent artists.

The brand is also linked to the world of sports and this transcends the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo and his wife Georgina Rodríguez or the Nara-Icardi couple board their private jets with Vuitton suitcases, or that they have a capsule collection next to the NBA with luxury clothing and accessories for basketball players. In 2014, FIFA asked him to build a travel case for the World Cup.

Impossible not to mention his relationship with the cinema, since this year he is part of Cruella, one of the blockbusters. The evil heroine, played by Emma Stone, wears in one of the scenes a mini bag from the Capucine line, an edition that was created especially for the film. Did little Louis Vuitton have imagined that all this would happen when he set out on that long journey to Paris?

A bit of history

When he finally arrived in the French capital in 1837, the young Vuitton became an apprentice to a trunk and box maker named Romain Maréchal. He became an expert on the subject and was recognized for his work: in 1854 he opened his own store with a sign on the door that read: “We safely pack the most fragile objects. Specialized in packing fashions”.

The business was located in the heart of the very elegant Place Vandôme. There, the Ritz hotel would be inaugurated shortly after (1875), the main luxury brands of the time would land and, already in the 20th century, the legendary designer Coco Chanel would live until the last days of it.

What was the historical circumstance that would drive the marketing of LV leather goods? The birth of European tourism. In the second half of the 19th century, thanks to transatlantic ships, trains with sleeping cars (the most famous: the Orient Express Paris-Istanbul) and, later, automobiles, distances were shortened for those who could afford the trips .

The aristocracy left their palaces in search of cures (spas, mountain air), since penicillin (and antibiotics) did not yet exist. And if they had to pack the suitcases, let them be from Louis Vuitton.

When curative tourism gave way to recreational tourism, especially with the arrival of the first airliners, and luxury hotels became an object of desire, the need for distinguished luggage deepened and the growth of LV became exponential.

To begin with, the entrepreneur created square and rectangular models that could be stacked (before, trunks had curved “backs”), then added tamper-evident locks (theft was a plague) and in 1858 he marked a milestone: he made them in Trianon canvas , something that made them more hermetic, light and waterproof.

As his competitors were already beginning to imitate his striped designs, in 1888 he presented the Damier Canvas design (with checkerboard-like squares), where his last name appears for the first time written in his work: “Marque L. Vuitton déposée” (L. Vuitton, registered trademark) could be clearly read on the sophisticated luggage.

As his competitors were already beginning to imitate his striped designs, in 1888 he introduced the Damier Canvas design (with checkerboard-like squares), where his last name appears for the first time.

That is why, even today, the Vuitton brand symbolizes a romantic moment of aristocratic travel: when traveling around the world was for the adventurous few. Will the current post-pandemic bring about a return to that model of travel for elites, the one that represents the LV monogram?

The logo of growth

His company grew non-stop: in 1859, Louis Vuitton opened a workshop in Asnières, northwest of Paris, where 20 employees worked. Meanwhile, its name was establishing itself strongly in the market outside of France: the brand opened its first store in London in 1885.

In the midst of his professional whirlwind, Vuitton married a woman named Clemence Emilie Parriaux, with whom he had three children: Georges, Blanche Amelie and Emilie Elizabeth.

It was precisely Georges who, in 1896, four years after Louis's death, at the age of 70, created the floral geometric monogram in beige and brown in which his father's initials LV appear, a logo that remains to this day. today.

The founder's grandson, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, recalled many years later, in 1965, how his father Georges had created the motifs on Monogram canvas: “First, the company's initials (LV) are intertwined in such a way that they remain perfectly legible. Then there is a diamond. To give the shape a specific character, he made the sides concave with a four-petaled flower in the center. Finally, there is a circle that contains a flower with four rounded petals.

With the monogram that bears the initials of its founder, Georges set out to grow the brand created by his father. He spent a good part of his time visiting several North American cities to publicize Vuitton products, while adding new bag models that complemented the traditional trunks, which were the beginning of the empire.

In 1913, the company opened the largest travel goods store in the world on the Champs Elysées, at the same time that models that were a classic of the brand followed, such as the Speedy leather bag, one of the most emblematic, the brown with the monogram. It was Audrey Hepburn's favorite for her plane trips and is manufactured to this day in different colors.

Georges Vuitton died in 1936. His legacy also includes a travel padlock with an original locking system that turned the brand's trunks into almost inviolable chests.

In 1913, the company opened the largest travel goods store in the world on the Champs Elysées, at the same time that models that were a classic of the brand were being released.

His son Gaston-Louis took over the company just as his father had done when his founding grandfather passed away. In the 1950s, leather was already present in practically all of the brand's products, from suitcases to wallets and purses. Counterfeiting was already a problem back then, which intensified as the brand expanded.

In 1970, Gaston Vuitton passed away, and his son-in-law, Henry Racamier, took over the company, continuing with the policy of territorial conquest. In 1978, for example, they opened the first stores in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan.

Patrick Louis Vuitton, Louis's great-great-grandson, was the last member of the family to be inside the family business: he died in 2019. But in reality, the real power no longer belonged to those who bore the family name.

The turn of globalization

At the end of the 1980s, the brand continued its growth, but something happened in 1987 that meant a break in the history of Vuitton and its heirs. They associated with the Moët & Chandon and Hennessy, creating the LVMH luxury conglomerate, chaired by Bernard Arnault.

With fusion, globalization came in the blink of an eye. The brand not only began to open stores around the world, but also called on the famous American designer Marc Jacobs (considered the creator of the grunge look, yes, the one with ripped jeans) to make the first collections of "ready to wear" clothing. of woman and man.

Suddenly, Vuittonmania began. Celebrities were chosen as ambassadors: Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez and others. Hurricane Jacobs not only designed the clothing, but also brought an artistic imprint to the brand that revolutionized the traditional monograms.

In 2001, Stephen Sprouse, renowned for his punk art, designed a limited-edition line of bags featuring graffiti writing. Two years later, the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami added more than 30 colors to the monogram with anime shapes.

It is impossible not to mention the relationship between Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama developed in 2012. The polka dots of the renowned Japanese artist invaded the accessories and clothing in the colors red with white and yellow with black.

The great publicity that all this artistic movement meant for Vuitton was added to new openings of stores around the world (even in Buenos Aires).

It was also the time of major advertising campaigns starring tennis players André Agassi and Steffi Graf, Maradona and Pelé, supermodel Gisele Bundchen and director Francis Ford Coppola with his daughter Sofía. Most were photographed by the brilliant photographer Annie Leibovitz along with her monogrammed luggage.

But the big surprise was the ad featuring the last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev in 2007. He is seen in a car with a Vuitton bag driving past the Berlin Wall. He is not an innocent image. He announces that the French brand is beginning to seduce a new post-communist social class in Eastern Europe: the New Rich who now want luxury.

Unlike the elusive Hermès, Vuitton is an exclusive brand on public display. And those who don't have it, want it. It is as VIP as it is aspirational.

In 2013 Jacobs was succeeded by the young French couturier Nicholas Ghesquiere, currently leading Vuitton as artistic director. Under his command, members of the new generation of Hollywood actresses are ambassadors: Michelle Williams, Emma Stone (Cruella), Alice Vikander and Lea Seydoux.

Object of desire and synonymous with sophistication and tradition, Vuitton was the most Googled brand of 2020. According to Forbes magazine, it leads the luxury top five and is valued at 39.3 billion dollars, followed by Gucci, Hermès, Cartier, Rolex and Chanel.

His Instagram account has more than 45 million followers and is present in 62 countries. In the workshops, the trunks are still made following the savoir faire set by Louis Vuitton, a country boy who, not even in the best of his dreams on that trip to Paris that changed his destiny, would have imagined everything he achieved.

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