Youth of Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton was born into a poor household; his father was a farmer and his mother was a milliner. Louis’ mother died when he was ten years old, and his father shortly remarried. One of the reasons Louis chose to leave his hometown is his new stepmother. He arrived in Paris at the age of 16 and quickly received the opportunity to apprentice at Monsieur Maréchal’s successful box-making and packaging factory. He ended up working for 17 years. When Napoleon III was crowned Emperor of France in 1852, his wife, Eugenie de Montijo, recruited him as her personal box-maker and packer. Louis Vuitton had gained access to a whole new audience of the royal and privileged, and commerce was booming.
Success for Box and Luggage
He married Clemence-Emilie Parriaux in 1854 and subsequently had a family with her. The next year, he left Monsieur Maréchal to start his own box-making and packaging business in Paris. This first store, located at 4 Rue Neuve-des-Capucines in Paris, France, symbolizes the formal beginning of Louis Vuitton as a business.
He began producing his own crafts and designs in his own workshop. With the advent of rectangular trunks in 1858, the industry grew even more popular. This was ground-breaking at the time because it allowed the trunks to be stacked instead of the “standard” rounded topped trunks. Louis was able to grow his business by opening a second, larger workshop in Asnieres, a hamlet west of Paris, in 1859.
Hurdles for Louis Vuitton
Because of the success of all Louis Vuitton designs, the firm experienced a great deal of imitation. To combat this, Louis began utilizing beige and brown stripes in his designs, a significant departure from the “traditional” grey. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1872 hampered Louis Vuitton’s career. His whole business was destroyed, but he was able to re-establish it, opening a new studio on 1 Rue Scribe in central Paris, and the company became even larger than before the war. Louis Vuitton built its first store outside of France on Oxford Street in London in 1885. As the brand’s success grew, so did the copying, leading Louis Vuitton to invent a new design. He continued to make creative, high-quality luggage for an additional 20 years, until his death in 1892 at the age of 70. He left the firm in the hands of his only son, Georges Vuitton.
Generations to come
While Georges was in control of the firm, he made a point of honoring his father’s philosophy while always innovating. George established and modified many facets of Louis Vuitton as its CEO, transforming it into the successful luxury house we know today. The iconic traditional Monogram Canvas, with its diamonds, circles, and flowers, is one of Georges’ greatest masterpieces. In 1896, the design was initially introduced and trademarked. He also began a push to turn the company into a global conglomerate, travelling to key cities to market Louis Vuitton goods. Georges is indeed responsible for the invention of trunk locks, the launch of the “Le Voyage” book series, and the creation of VIP trunks for the most devoted Louis Vuitton clients.
In 1914, he established the “Louis Vuitton building” on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, which became the world’s largest travel-goods shop. And, before dying at the age of 79 in 1936, he began growing the business by developing more travel bags. The family company was passed down once more, this time to Georges’ eldest son Gaston Vuitton.
Developing iconic bags and expanding the company:
Throughout the 1900s, Louis Vuitton extended their company by adding bags and other things in addition to their famed trunks. The enormous travel bag, the Keep all, was developed in 1930, followed by the smaller version, the Speedy, in 1932, which was Louis Vuitton’s first handbag meant for everyday use. Bags like the Noé, Alma, and Papillon followed, and they are still popular today.
Louis Vuitton was able to reinvent their traditional canvas in 1959. Between 1945 and 2000, Louis Vuitton expanded their product line to include various categories, including compact handbags, wallets, and accessories.
Gaston Vuitton died in 1970, and his son-in-law, Henry Racamier, took over the firm. He realized the brand’s enormous appeal and made certain that new stores were opened all over the world. In 1987, another watershed moment occurred. The luxury goods company LVMH was formed when Louis Vuitton, Moet & Chandon, and Hennessy decided to join forces.
Today, Louis Vuitton is still one of the world’s most popular luxury brands. And we don’t see that changing anytime soon. Every season, they are renowned to create limited edition collections. And they frequently combine with diverse artists and designers to create even more unique pieces. This, along with all of the classic goods developed by the company throughout the years, makes us quite anxious to see what fantastic vintage pieces we can locate.