When we talk about the history of fashion we talk about Louis Vuitton . And that’s not a way of saying. This ancient Parisian maison still bears today the trace of an experience lasting about two centuries and which is reflected in the class and beauty of each product.
How not to fall in love with Louis Vuitton?
Women know this well, and an irresistible appeal . The price is not always within everyone’s reach, but this too is a sign of great prestige and value for a company that has always loved female beauty.
Although the historic house has now become a multinational of inestimable value, it has never lost that traditional taste that characterizes its elegance. And to say that it all begins with the passion of a brave twenty year old in 1845 !
Chi era Louis Vuitton?
Louis Vuitton was born in the Jura region on August 4, 1821 to father Xavier Vuitton , a farmer, and mother Corinne Gaillard , a milliner. But unfortunately a tragedy disrupts Louis Vuitton’s life when he was still a child: his mother died when he was only 10 years old, and shortly thereafter his father left him prematurely, leaving Louis alone, who moved away at just 13 years old. alone (walking to your destination) in Paris.
Once in the city, at the age of 16, after doing odd jobs and walking alone for hundreds of km on foot, he began to work a large luggage and accessories factory, the Marechal , where he began to develop his first ideas. for its own line of bags.
He founded his own small company in 1845, at the age of 24, and success was immediate .
Meanwhile, in 1854, at the age of 33, Louis Vuitton married 17-year-old Clemence-Emilie Parriaux .
In 1858, he introduced the first famous trunks with a rectangular shape and rounded edges. The success of this design is so incredible that it leads him directly to be the creator of the suitcases of the French empress.
For Louis Vuitton, success is now a done thing.
In 1867, after the Universal Expo, his bags are also admired abroad, and twenty years later the Louis Vuitton company also opens in London .
In 1888 we have the birth of the famous Louis Vuitton logo, where it was written ” marque L. Vuitton deposee “, or “registered trademark L. Vuitton”.
Upon Louis’s death, the company passed to his son Georges who coined the famous monogram which today is the company’s symbol par excellence. Louis Vuitton passed from Georges to his son Gaston and then to his daughter, Odile , married to Henri Ricamier.
The company in history
Thanks to the interest of children and grandchildren, the Vuitton company expands from 1901 onwards all over the world.
Its offices are opened first in New York, then in Washington, Bombay, Cairo. Wherever beauty could be added to local fashion with the winning ideas of a special brand, the brand was there.
Beyond the stain of collaboration with the Nazis during World War II , Louis Vuitton has always brought prestige to France and its people.
Over the course of the twentieth century, its specialization changed. No longer just bags and suitcases but also clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories, eyewear and even books – with a publishing section!
In 1987 the company even entered into wine production, supporting the Veuve Cliquot champagne and Moet Hennessy.
Louis Vuitton from 1983 to 1997 sponsored the America’s Cup of sailing, which became the Louis Vuitton Cup.
The company today
The descendants of Louis Vuitton today have transformed the family business into a multinational, whose value today is stratospheric: 25.9 billion dollars!
The multinational was acquired for 42% (thus becoming the largest shareholder) by Bernard Arnault , thus becoming one of the richest men in the world.
Meanwhile Madame Odile Vuitton-Ricamier wanted to entrust the reins to an exceptional artistic director, the American designer Marc Jacobs .
nrkbeta, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
In 2000 Louis Vuitton becomes a real industry that relies on very famous names to keep the brand high. The multinational thus carefully cultivates the choice of testimonials and brand ambassadors, and over time has used famous models, musicians and actors, just to name a few: Kate Moss, Keith Richards, Madonna, Eva Herzigova, Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Campbell, Sean Connery, Hayden Christensen, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Gisele Bundchen, Uma Thurman, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Phelps, Angelina Jolie and more recently David Bowie, Michelle Williams, Lea Seydoux and Alicia Vikander , who have become protagonists of its marketing and promotional campaigns around the world.
The prestige of Louis Vuitton products is associated with exclusivity. Although it is difficult to buy the originals – they can only be found in authorized stores or on the official website of the maison – the turnover is stellar (ten years ago it reached 14 and a half billion dollars!).
In 2013, the agreement with Marc Jacobs ended in the meantime and since then the company has been directed by the Frenchman Nicolas Ghesquiere , who has started a collaboration with Supreme NY .
