– Louis Vuitton –
Louis Vuitton is a national pride in France.It is one of the oldest and most famous brand of the leather industry.
The history of Louis Vuitton himself is double-edged. On the one hand, it is an amazing story of a young man who was so talented and focused, that he realized a dream that is still alive today. But on the other hand, it hides a story that would dissuade a lot of women from buy more handbag and accessories from this brand.
Louis Vuitton was born in Paris (France) in 1811. At age 26, he decided to become a luggage packer. He was so talented and built such a reputation in this line of work, that he was hired by the Emperor of France, Napoleon III, to be the official layetier or malletier for his wife, the Empress Eugenie. Louis Vuitton developed such an expertise in the building of traveling cases, that he started to design his own luggage finally establishing his own company in 1854. He designed the first Louis Vuitton flat trunks made of wood that were covered with what would become his famous leather canvas. What was so revolutionary about the flat top trunk was that ll trunks before this had rounded tops so water could easily run off. Rounded trunks could not be stacked. Louis Vuitton’s “gray Trianon canvas flat trunk” was lightweight and airtight and could be stacked making it a more efficient way to travel with lots of trunks. Louis Vuitton remains as the world’s most popular luggage maker today.
Louis Vuitton died in 1892, and the company’s management passed to his son Georges Vuitton. A year after his father’s death, Georges Vuitton launched a worldwide campaign to promote Louis Vuitton. Twenty years later in 1913, the Louis Vuitton Building opened on the Champs-Elysees in Paris (France). The success of the Louis Vuitton resulted in the opening of Louis Vuitton stores in New-York, Bombay, Washington, London, Alexandria and Buenos Aires.
In 1932, Louis Vuitton’s famous Noe bag was introduced to the public. It was created for champagne vintners to transport bottles. The Louis Vuitton’s speedy bag was introduced right after.
And here comes the part of history that we might not even know… During World War II, Louis Vuitton collaborated with the nazis during the german occupation of France, and increased his richness from their business with the germans. Their anti-semitism also drove them to support Petain’s Vichy regime that was responsible for the deportatgion of French Jews to german concentration camps.
Regardless, Louis Vuitton is one of the most famous handbag designer, and all women have dreamed to own one of these beautiful bags.