Louis Vuitton Trunk, a Journey “À la Française”

Louis Vuitton’s talent would soon be noticed, notably by Empress Eugénie; an admirer of his innovative and revolutionary ideals, she advised him to open his own business. This he would do in 1854. Indeed, the young trunker was by no means lacking in ingenuity when he conceived trunks with a flat lid rather than a rounded one, or when he covered them in impermeable cotton canvas rather than fragile and perishable leather. The orders at Louis Vuitton Malletier would soon multiply: a bed trunk for explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, a wardrobe trunk for English couturier Charles Frederick Worth, a library trunk for Ernest Hemingway, a shoe trunk for singer Lily Pons, a secretary trunk for conductor Léopold Stokowski, and no less than 200 trunks for the famous Sarah Bernhardt. In 1888, the trunks were enriched with color when Louis Vuitton and his son Georges Louis came out with the checked canvas, made to render the brand’s products identifiable and, in doing so, stand up to cheap imitations. Whatever the case, it was the first time that a trunkmaker branded their products. While Louis Vuitton didn’t invent the travel trunk, he certainly did initiate a search for aestheticism and elegance as a symbol of social stratification, a sophistication that is still unequalled today.

At the end of the 19th century, owning travel trunks was an essential part of going from place to place. But today, when Karl orders a box to put away his iPod collection, when Sharon Stone designs her own vanity case, when Mariah Carey dances half-naked on the trunks at 101 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, or when the 2010 World Cup is brought onto the field in a monogram canvas Louis Vuitton box, what does it mean? In 2013, trends are going back to the roots of luxury; in the space of 6 months, Louis Vuitton has released the book Malles (“Trunks” in French) and opened a travel trunk-themed pop up store on Avenue Montaigne… Is it any surprise that the Louis Vuitton trunk has left its mark on the history of France? A country synonymous with glamour and romanticism; the birthplace of luxury and haute couture. Does owning a Louis Vuitton trunk mean owning a wooden box, or rather a small piece of undying French glamour? Why are their handbags adorned with gilded bronze padlocks? Could it be a reminder of that of their trunks? Louis Vuitton has understood this ever since their creation: what the customer wants is to be a part of this grand voyage à la française, and to do this, they must wear one of their pieces everyday, making each and every one of us an ambassador of the values that made and still make this radiant brand’s reputation what it is.

 

Louis Vuitton and the Art of travel : Key dates

1854 : Louis Vuitton is founded : it is highly specialized in proposing innovative luggage for travels and for personal habits in form of trunks and wardrobes.

1858 : Travelling becomes more comfortable since Louis Vuitton introduces the first flattop slat trunk. It can be easily stacked aboard ships and trains. In addition to this they’re lighter than normal luggage because of canvas, brass and leather. Safer because of the soft interior of “mallettage” and the tumbler lock.

1870 – 1920 : The customization becomes the unique trait of Louis Vuitton: not only the luggage hosts the client’s initials but is fully personalized according to the needs of the customer. There are trunks holding beds (for the explorer de Brazza during his expedition in Congo), others with whole libraries, others, again, with tea sets (Indian Maharajas) or all the tools needed for personal care (the Tsar Nicolaji II).

1900 : The universal exposition of Paris is a worldwide event where the last novelties and adventurous discoveries and experimentations are displayed. Louis Vuitton, with his revolutionary concept of tools for travelling, becomes worldwide famous.

1920 : Inspired to a series of ads of the early 1900 Vuitton creates the iconic Art Deco white-blue-red triangular motif with the symbolic “V” representing the brand on the Steamer bag. The accessory and the related slogan “Fly, sail, travel” will become a symbol of Louis Vuitton and the travel.

1940 : Ernst Hemingway commissions a luggage with a typewriting machine set.

1950s – 2000s : The LV luggage become a must for celebrities and are immortalized in the movies: from Love in the afternoon (1957) to Titanic (1997), The talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Catch me if you can (2002), Sex and the city (2008), Blue Jasmine (2012) and hundreds of other films.

1983 : The adventurous spirit of LV leads the brand to sponsor the America’s Cup qualifying round : the Louis Vuitton sailing Cup is born.

1996 : LV chooses to celebrate its 160 years asking seven stylists to reinvent some classic pieces of the brand. Among these, trunks are a must.

1999 : The spirit of travel echoes in the LV initiative to start publishing city guides from Mumbai to New York and Tokyo. A tradition that is still alive.

2002 : The iconic symbols of the brand and its adventurous spirit are immortalized in the sporty models of the Tambour watch collection.

2007 : LV creates a special limited edition of trunks for the Wes Anderson movie Darjeeling Limited, based on a travel in India.

2008 – 2010 : Annie Leibovitz signs an iconic series of spots dedicated to the art of travel. Among these a notorious travel interview with Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, an iconic ad with Catherine Deneuve portrayed as a passenger nearby an early 1900 train with references to the Lumiere Brothers, Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter Sofia in the Savana and Sean Connery into an exotic scenario.

2011 – 2014 : LV celebrates the Art and the Spirit of travel with two immortal campaigns. Furthermore, LV creates the Invitation au voyage campaign with David Bowie.

2011 – 2012 : The ready-to-wear catwalk Autumn/Winter is inspired to travellers and guests of an hotel.

2012 – 2013 : The ready-to-wear catwalk Autumn/Winter is dedicated to the travel and set into a scenery reminding the Gare du Nord, with a steam-train.

2013 : A unique pop up store opens at 22, Avenue Montaigne in Paris. This temporary boutique hosts interviews and events dedicated to the “Art of packing” for travels. A special capsule collection of accessories is created for this occasion.

2014 : LV pays tribute to the spirit of travel with the handbag Petite Malle, an iconic mini trunk.

2015 – 2016 : The event “Fly, sail, travel” at the Grand Palais in Paris it’s the utmost celebration of 180 years of creativity serving the art of travelling and the spirit of the adventure.

2017 : The new smartwatch collection Tambour Horizon celebrates the spirit of travel on land, air and sea.

2017 : LV creates a trunk for the Roland Garros cup.

2018 : LV presents its new concept of modern traveller for the Spring/Summer collection.