Louis Vuitton’s story is undeniably linked to the long march of history. When Louis Vuitton founded his brand in 1854, the trunker’s creations were so ingenious that they would attract travel pioneers and explorers. The unpickable lock was just one argument in their favor. In 1868, the trunker equipped French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza for his expedition to Congo. Louis Vuitton created a trunk with a bed that could be folded out in any circumstance. The last Czar of Russia Nicolas II ordered all of his baggage from the trunker.
He offered a number of LV travel accessories to his French mistress Louise Octavie Bohy. When the brand celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004, it bore with it a heritage as precious as it was extraordinary. Always unequalled in baggage, Louis Vuitton is today a brand that excels in fashion, jewelry, shoes, and watchmaking. When it comes to uniting the label with a personality, the brand at 101 Avenue des Champs-Élysées often turns towards visionaries, pioneers, and those who push the limits.
Louis Vuitton’s tradition of accompanying explorers to the four corners of the Earth can still be found in their collections today – for example, a pair of laced boots for explorers imagined by Kim Jones in 2013 or the adventurer silhouette imagined for Spring/Summer 2018. It’s no surprise to see a man like Buzz Aldrin, the first man to walk on the moon, lending his image to the brand to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing. Another unexpected hero in Louis Vuitton’s campaigns is Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the USSR. The Russian politician became a legend in a campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz by poetically affirming: “A journey puts us face-to-face with ourselves.”
Since going beyond oneself and bodily limits is also a way of pushing the boundaries of possible, Louis Vuitton also likes to make great athletes icons in their campaigns. Pelé and Zidane posed in 2008 through the lens of Annie Leibovitz. In 2012, the brand continued to highlight “emblematic figures that incarnate a sense of exploit and engagement”, like boxing champion and activist Muhammad Ali and his grandson. In that same year, it was the most decorated swimmer in history Michael Phelps who was chosen by the French trunkmaker to incarnate their values. This is just one more way of anchoring Louis Vuitton in the history of humanity.
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