Walking into the Reminiscent Past of Louis Vuitton’s Handbags
10 Beautiful Secrets of LV’s Iconic Handbags that History Couldn’t Ignore
Did you know that one of the most popular Louis Vuitton day bags was originally designed for Coco Chanel?
I’ve experienced an ideological continuum when it comes to Louis Vuitton’s ubiquitous logo bags. I’ve sailed through the waves of dislike back into the shores of liking the logo bags as the brand introduced different designs and new trends without showing any plans of giving up on the monogrammed design. But with all thoughts of the logo bags aside, Louis Vuitton has ingeniously basked in the glory of being the biggest handbag brand in the world for a long time and by the looks of it, the house of Louis Vuitton has no plans to step down the dais.
But as bright and vivid as the future may look; there is a charm in its history that continues to inspire people all over the world. Vuitton’s lineage is definitely worth reading, but if you are hoping to gather some interesting trivia about the brand then here are 10 cool facts about the brand’s kaleidoscopic journey since its inception:
1. It all began with a 300-mile walk to Paris.
Designers are mass-produced today by fashion schools where everything from materials, designs, and marketing are taught to the aspiring learners. But in 1834, Louis Vuitton didn’t get to taste success so easily. He began his professional career at the tender age of 13, by walking from his hometown, Anchay to Paris ~ a 300-mile journey that took him two years because he had to take up work along the way to survive.
2. Fame smiled cheerily on Louis Vuitton when he was commissioned to work as the official box-maker and packer of Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife, Empress Eugenie de Montijo of France.
In 1853 Vuitton was appointed by the empress to carefully and tidily pack her wardrobe for transportation when she travelled to the different royal residences in the country. The job of box-making and packing was considered respectable during this period and it elevated Vuitton’s profile among Europe’s elite.
3. The Alma Bag originated when the house of Louis Vuitton received a special order from Coco Chanel.
Chanel was so taken by the Alma Voyage that she special-ordered a day size version of the same bag for personal use in 1925. This made her one of the first French icons to influence the creation of a Louis Vuitton bag. In the 1930s, the Alma bag found popularity when it was put into regular production.
4. Audrey Hepburn spiralled the creation of the Speedy Bag.
The speedy bag wouldn’t have existed if Audrey Hepburn didn’t ask Vuitton to design a miniature version of the famous Keepall travel bag in 1965. We are glad LV agreed and soon considered regular production of the bag helping us enjoy the very beautiful and practical Speedy bag which also stands as a signature for the brand.
5. The popular Noé Bag was designed to hold Champagne bottles, and it continues its legacy to this day.
Louis Vuitton bags are not just about perfect designs and luxe interiors; they are also about solving real problems women face when it comes to carrying everything that they need in a bag. The Noé bag deals with one such fancy problem when it comes to carrying champagne bottles.
It is the world’s first bucket bag which was designed to accommodate five bottles of champagne comfortably. Four of these bottles can stand on their base while the fifth one is inverted in the middle. The current LV line still has a Noé which can do this. Fancy carrying around bottles of champagne?
6. The famous Damier and Monogram prints trace their origins to LV’s attempts to deter impersonators.
Everyone wants a share of your success, and this is exactly how copycats thrive. The first Vuitton trunks featured a striped design and as they gained popularity, many Parisian trunk-makers took to boost their sales by copying the design. In an attempt to dissuade copiers, LV launched the Damier print {which literally translates into “checker-board”} in 1988, but the fame of the design had competitors following closely on its heels as well.
This encouraged Louis Vuitton to develop the iconic LV monogram in 1896 which was much more detailed and discouraged counterfeiters from copying the design because of the lack of technology. Sadly, recent technological advances may not promise the same reprieve to LV.
7. An all-leather bag line wasn’t introduced until 1985.
The brand, as we know it today, is very different from what it was decades ago. Louis Vuitton had a gradual ascent to its current position in the luxury market. While fame has been a part of the brand for a substantial period of time, it was around the mid-80s when LV launched the Epi leather line ~ its first permanent collection of luxurious leather bags
8. For over a century, Louis Vuitton exclusively designed accessories.
Today we can step into a Louis Vuitton store and shop for a diverse range of products varying from evening wear to keychains; but until 1997, all the brand did was design accessories. The executives at LVMH {the conglomerate that was formed with the collaboration of Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy} employed Marc Jacobs to expand its operations into clothing. He masterminded the evolution of Louis Vuitton from a luggage designer to a house of fashion.
9. Artist collaborations were pioneered by Louis Vuitton.
Louis Vuitton initiated the trend of teaming up with artists to design exquisite pieces or capsule collections. It started in 2001 when Marc Jacobs roped in Stephen Sprouse who was globally renowned for his accomplishments in contemporary art to graffiti embellish popular monogram bags designed by the brand. The outcome was fantastic and people loved this refreshing ideology introduced by the brand.
This led to later collaborations with other artists like Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama paving the way for competitors to explore the benefits of artist-designed capsule collections.
10. LV’s popularity is credited to a technological breakthrough in 1959.
The year 1959 saw a technological advance that allowed designers to coat canvas in a way that reduced the thickness of the coating. This made the material thinner, softer, and more pliable, making handbags more luxurious than before, which made the Louis Vuitton we know and love today possible.
To conclude: Louis Vuitton’s history is speckled with several attention-grabbing details which makes the brand interesting, popular, and loved in today’s world. A Louis Vuitton bag continues to be the pride of many women, and if you dream of owning one, or if you already own one ~ you now know a lot more about this esteemed house than you did before.