The name Louis Vuitton is synonymous with luxury. For more than a century, the French fashion house has sold ultra-expensive luggage intertwined with the iconic LV logo. Unfortunately, Louis Vuitton products, which have always been under the umbrella of “if you have to ask the price, you probably can’t afford” have been widely counterfeited and presented as symbols of the utilitarianism of the wealthy.
Now let’s check out some interesting facts about Louis Vuitton here:
This brand came from humble beginnings
Louis Vuitton was born on August 4, 1821, in Anchay, France, into a very ordinary family. In fact, his family was from the working class. Wheaton’s father was a farmer and carpenter, and his mother worked as a hat maker. After his mother’s death and his father’s remarriage to a woman he was not on good terms with, Wheaton left home in 1835, when he was still a teenager and his father had also died.
Louis Vuitton went to Paris on foot
When Wheaton turned 13, she decided to leave home because she was tired of her stepmother’s strict behavior.
The future designer went to Paris on foot. He walked a total of 292 miles over two years, doing odd jobs along the way.
Louis Vuitton learned his trade early
When Louis Vuitton finally arrived in Paris as a 16-year-old in 1837, he was apprenticed to Monsieur Marshall, an industrial revolution-era craftsman who made traveling trunks for the wealthy to carry on horse-drawn carriages, boats, and trains. Through this initial job, Vuitton gained a great education and reputation for craftsmanship, working with Maréchal for 17 years before setting up his own workshop for luggage work.
He made impressive connections
In the 19th century, having one’s own box-maker and packer was the height of luxury, and Vuitton performed this highly specialized role for Napoleon III’s wife, Eugenie de Montejo, Queen of France. Vuitton was responsible for packing the emperor’s clothes for the trip. With this impressive career, Vuitton and his products officially became part of the affluent class of the era, which brought him many other wealthy and powerful clients. They were the ones who remained Louie’s customers forever.
Louis Vuitton founded his own company and produced unique and custom luggage
In 1854, Louis Vuitton opened his company and his first boutique in Paris. A few years later, in 1858, Vuitton designed its first branded chest. Waterproof, fireproof, flat suitcases that stacked easily were much more practical than the round trunks that were popular at the time. He made them smooth, without rounded edges or extra details. Surprisingly, the original Vuitton designs did not feature the famous LV monogram but were covered in a durable gray canvas called Trianon.
And because of the rapid growth, Louis Vuitton had to open another workshop in Asnières-sur-Seine. This workshop had only 20 workers at first.
Towards globalization
The designer’s products became popular around the world and served as a standard for quality and reliability. In 1885, Louis Vuitton opened its first store in London, followed by stores in New York and Philadelphia.
Louis Vuitton and the production of the most reliable lock
In 1886, Louis Vuitton and his son Georges invented and patented a new type of lock. They were so confident in its capabilities that they even challenged the famous magician, Harry Houdini, to get it out of a closed Louis Vuitton trunk. Houdini refused this offer, and his refusal helped to prove the perfection of the invention.
Dealing with counterfeiters of Louis Vuitton products
In 1876, Vuitton introduced a striped canvas pattern for its luggage. Twelve years later, he came up with the Damier print, a classic checkered pattern that the fashion house still uses. Vuitton designed these patterns in part to prevent counterfeiting, which existed even before the creation of the LV monogram.
Louis Vuitton bags were so popular that counterfeiters soon began to counterfeit them, so something had to be done to show that the bags were genuine. In 1896, Georges created the LV monogram, which was printed on jacquard fabric.
Unfortunately, the products of this famous brand are still counterfeit. This company has a policy against counterfeiters. If you are seen with a fake product, they can sue you, especially if you make money from it. And this can happen anywhere in the world.
The Louis Vuitton workshop was destroyed
During the violent political upheavals of the Franco-Prussian War, demand for Vuitton’s goods declined, and his atelier was looted and destroyed. A few months after the destruction of his shop, Vuitton dedicated himself to rebuilding his business and, in 1871, established a new and more luxurious location in the heart of Paris.
The brand kept its business in the family
Louis Vuitton has always been a family business. Vuitton’s son, Georges, patented an innovative locking system for his father’s luggage in 1886.
The locks were so effective that George challenged none other than Harry Houdini to escape from the trunk of a Wheaton (the great magician and escape artist refused to answer).
Young Vuitton’s lock design is still used today. That’s not all he contributed to the brand: in 1896, a few years after Louis’ death, Georges created the famous LV monogram as a tribute to his father.
Louis Vuitton lived where he worked
Wheaton’s work was truly an integral part of his life. In 1878, he and his wife built two houses in the garden surrounding his workshop so that he could be as close to his profession as possible. The family home still stands and even retains its original decor. It’s now part of a private museum, which can be a fun place to visit, provided you can afford one of those chests.
he never designed handbags or clothes
Vuitton advertised its wares with the phrase “Securely wraps the most fragile objects.” He was an expert in packaging clothes, but he didn’t actually design any of those clothes, just the elegant bags that were supposed to hold and protect them. Handbags became part of the Louis Vuitton brand decades after his death, and clothes came much later. In 1997, Marc Jacobs became the designer and creative director and presented Louis Vuitton’s first ready-to-wear line.
Louis Vuitton is associated with a French icon
Vuitton won a bronze medal for its innovative case designs at the 1867 Exposition Universelle, a world-famous exhibition in Paris. Two decades later, Vuitton won the gold medal at the 1889 Paris Exposition—an event for which none other than the Eiffel Tower was built. It is hard to believe that Vuitton’s designs are even older than the final piece of French iconography.
Privatization
This brand produces specialized items. For example, a special suitcase was made for Diana Vishnova, the first ballerina in the Mariinsky Ballet, whose first name and surname are engraved on the trunk of the suitcase.
Why are the products of this brand expensive?
Natural leather and fabrics designed specifically for this company are used to make the bags of this brand.
The boutiques of this company have a special space where every product is displayed in the best light. Stores are located only in commercial areas or inside luxury shopping centers. Some Louis Vuitton merchandise is only available to VIP customers.
All Louis Vuitton bags are handmade. It takes about a week to make a handbag.
The tanned leather used next to the monogram is completely natural and has no dyes or chemical dyes, so it darkens over time.
You will never find Louis Vuitton products at a discount
After each season, if any of LV’s products are not sold, they are returned to its factory in France and shredded or burned to preserve the value and class of the brand.
Alma Kyiv History
“Alma” is one of the most iconic Louis Vuitton bags. This bag was originally commissioned by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel as a product for herself. It was in 1934 that he allowed Louis Vuitton to put the bag into general production and launch this bag under the name “Squire.” In 1955, this bag was renamed “Champs-Elysee,” and until 1992, this bag was named “Alma.”
Over the years, the bag has been produced in countless materials, from Monogram and Damier canvas to every color of Epi leather and Monogram Vernis, as well as exotic skins such as ostrich, python, and crocodile. And of course, countless limited editions have been purchased by various artists and stylists.
