The Key To Louis Vuitton's Trunk History
We have all experienced the embarrassing moment of realising that the overweight bag you just heaved off the baggage carousel, is not in fact yours. With a personalised Louis Vuitton trunk in tow, it's an impossible mistake to make. The French luxury goods brand have been revolutionising luggage for nearly 200 years, from traveller’s trunks to the Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami artist collaborations of the noughties. The newly expanded Mon Monogram lifts the lid on LV classics for the ultimate personalisation service.
From a fully stocked home bar party trunk, which comes with a monogrammed disco ball and crystal cut vodka glasses, to the miniature doll wardrobes made for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, Louis Vuitton’s history has always been about making something distinguished; making the everyday travel accessory unique and personal. Monsieur Louis Vuitton’s earliest clients, such as the Empress Eugénie de Montijo, came to the maison - which opened its first store in 1854 - not only for their trunks' sturdiness, but for their customisability.
Vuitton trained and mastered his craft under Monsieur Marachel, an esteemed trunk-maker and packer. Louis Vuitton had the desire to do something different. Vuitton's trunks were sturdy and iron cornered, as one would expect for the lengthy train and boat travel of the day - so sturdy, in fact, Monsieur Vuitton challenged the great Houdini to attempt to break the indestructible lock system first introduced in 1886. Vuitton stamped identity on lugagge with the artfully crafted Trianon grey canvas, introduced in 1858. The signature monogram wasn’t implemented until after Vuitton's death, by his son and heir Georges Vuitton in 1896.
‘No dream is too large or object too complex,’ say Vuitton. Back in the day, each trunk and bag could be personalised not only to the identity of the owner but also to the purpose of the objects inside, say billiard cues, picnic essentials, tennis games, or watercolours. Outside Vuitton's Rue Neuve-des-Capucines storefront a sign read: ‘Securely packs the most fragile objects. Specialising in packing fashions.’ Trunks were made for housing the flouncing wooden hoop skirts, canes, top hats, and fascinators of the late 1800’s. Today they might house an archive Marc Jacobs womenswear military jacket, or a two-piece from Pharrell Williams' latest A/W 25 partnership with Nigo.
Personalised Louis Vuitton luggage often paints a picture of a cultural who's who? Take Paul Poiret, the master French couturier of early 20th century, who had his monogram trunk painted in 1911 with his personal symbol - a version of the French flag accompanied by a blue ‘pois’ or pea, which appears on the right with two red stripes, ‘rayes’. 'Pois-rayes' = Poiret! A charming phonetic anagram and ode to Louis Vuitton's history of personalisation.
Silent movie star and Hollywood golden age darling Greta Garbo - think 1926 The Temptress and 1932 Grand Hotel - commissioned a shoe trunk. The trunk recently sold in auction for $37,500.
The 1901 Gaston-Louis Steamer Bag was originally created for the practicality of nautical voyage, but has endured today into a lasting classic. The choice for a lightweight canvas travel bag in a day when durability and strength was a necessity was a bold choice for Gaston-Louis Vuitton, one which has seemingly paid off.
Ernest Hemingway's library trunk was specially designed in 1927 by Gaston-Louis Vuitton; it held a typewriter with room for paper, ink, and of course books. The trunk was found after Hemingway's death, in the basement of the Ritz Paris with a manuscript of Hemingway's long lost magnum opus A Moveable Feast.
Audrey Hepburn, the star of the silver screen, was known for her love of the Louis Vuitton Speedy - which menswear's creative director Pharrell has been betting on in recent years. In Hepburn's 1957 film Love in the Afternoon, styled by Hubert De Givenchy, Louis Vuitton trunks line the halls of the Ritz.
Luggage has become the ultimate status symbol. The 2000s are nothing without the paparazzi photos of celebs with their monogrammed or personalised Louis Vuitton trunks and bags. Vuitton's 2003 Murakami and Sprouse collaborations by then-creative director Marc Jacobs paved the way. As models wheeled new Murakami trunks down the A/W 25 menswear runway earlier this year, it's evident the LV trunk's story has only just begun.
