Mr. Louis Vuitton’s experience was really wonderful!
2021 is the 200th birthday of Mr. Louis Vuitton, we all know that the leading fashion boutique brand Louis Vuitton started from luggage, the core of the brand comes from the spirit of travel, the launch of the boutique bags and suitcases are many fashion fans of the favorite collection, and behind these boutique design and classic single product, about the founder of Mr. Louis Vuitton’s story how much do you know?
Mr. Louis Vuitton was born in the countryside of France, and from a young age, he had a great longing for Paris. In order to fulfill his dream, he walked 470 kilometers on foot to reach Paris. Later, Mr. Louis Vuitton was apprenticed to a luggage workshop, but his greatest skill was to pack luggage for noblemen, from the royal baggage handler to the boutique kingdom Louis Vuitton, which has stood for more than a century. ELLE has compiled 10 short stories about Mr. Louis Vuitton, so if you want to know more about the history of Louis Vuitton, you must read the whole article!
LV Brand Story 1. Founder left his home at the age of 13 for his dream.
Louis Vuitton’s founder, Mr. Louis Vuitton, was born in an ordinary family in eastern France, where his father worked as a carpenter to earn a living. Although his family’s hometown was remote and information was not well developed at that time, he had a great longing for Paris since he was a child. At the age of 13, Mr. Louis Vuitton walked 470 kilometers to Paris, carrying his own luggage and working in a lumberyard.
Louis Vuitton Official Website
Louis Vuitton Story 2. Apprenticeship in a suitcase workshop
Although he arrived in the land of dreams, Louis Vuitton was penniless and wanted to find a job, so he began an apprenticeship at Monsieur Maréchal, the luggage workshop of the time.
Louis Vuitton did not learn to make trunks, but to pack them. Because the aristocracy liked to travel with a lot of things, including mirrors, lamps, clothes, etc., packing was a very important job, as it was a challenge to keep things in a small space without crushing them!
LV Brand Story 3: Becoming the Empress of France’s royal packer
There are no professions that are not prestigious, as long as you work hard, you will have a chance to shine! Louis Vuitton took packing seriously. In the 19th century, women’s clothing had long sleeves and heavy hemlines, but only Louis Vuitton was able to put clothes into suitcases without wrinkling or damaging them.
His packing skills reached the ears of Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoléon III, and Mr. Louis Vuitton became the Empress’s baggage handler.
LV Brand Story 4. 1854 Creation of a Luggage Boutique
After 17 years of working for Monsieur Maréchal, Louis Vuitton decided to open his own luggage boutique at 4, Avenue Neuve-des-Capucines, near Place Vendôme, with the fame and money that would lay the foundations for the entire Vuitton brand.
This boulevard Neuve-des-Capucines is also the reason for the name of the Capucines collection, the finest and most labor-intensive of the LV brand’s bags. Launched in 2013, the LV Capucines, a bag with a hundred crafts, is named in homage to the brand’s founding store.
LV Brand Story 5. Luggage at the World Expo
At that time, luggage was mainly made of cowhide, because it was not waterproof, luggage items had to be made into a rounded shape in order to avoid water accumulation, but the rounded top of the suitcase is not easy to stack, so Louis Vuitton changed the suitcase to waterproof canvas material and changed it into a quadrilateral shape, which was very popular at that time, and the luggage of Louis Vuitton also appeared on the World Expo held in Paris in 1889, which laid the foundation for the core of the brand’s values to begin with. This also laid the foundation for the brand’s core values to begin with travel.
LV Brand Story 6. Titanic Vignettes
We all know that “Titanic” is adapted from a true story, at that time the aristocrats and celebrities used Louis Vuitton designed luggage, it is said that after the Titanic hit the iceberg and sank, the search and rescue team found a lot of suitcases that had not been in the water at all and were also intact, which made Louis Vuitton’s LV luggage at that time famous, and became an expert in luxury travel.
LV Brand Story 7. Everything starts from scratch because of the war.
Although the luggage boutique was on the right track and business was growing, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 forced the business to stop and the store was destroyed. However, Louis Vuitton never gave up and rebuilt its factories and stores, bringing the business back to life.
The story of Louis Vuitton 8. Asnières, the legendary workshop created by Louis Vuitton
When it comes to LV’s factories, it’s important to mention the first one, opened in 1859 in Asnières, northeast of the center of Paris, with a staff of just 20, which later grew to 225.
The original workshop was expanded over the decades to include the construction of the Vuitton family home, but it is still where the products are made today. The family home is now part of a private museum, while 170 craftsmen continue to work in the factory, designing and producing leather goods and customized products for customers all over the world.
LV brand story 9. Tumbler lock designed by father and son together
We should not be unfamiliar with the Tumbler lock, in fact, the Tumbler lock was initially developed by Louis Vuitton and his son, George Vuitton, because at that time, luggage is often opened by thieves to steal items, so the master box maker invented a single locking system equipped with two spring buckles, after years of hard work, the Tumbler lock has also become a patent of LV.
LV Brand Story 10. The Old Flower was designed by Mr. Louis Vuitton.
What is the origin of LV’s most familiar design, the Monogram? We all know that the Monogram was designed by Louis Vuitton’s son, but it wasn’t designed to be romantic or to look good, it was designed to prevent plagiarism! Ever since Louis Vuitton designed the square shaped suitcase, it has been copied. To prevent people from copying it, George Vuitton used the initials of his father’s name, along with four-leaf clovers, flowers and diamonds to create the exclusive LV Monogram.