COMPROMISE

Coolbrands: Maarten Schäfer and Anouk Pappers in discussion with BernardArnault

Branding really is a strange phenomenon. Mention any brand, and if you know it or haveeven vaguely heard of it, it immediately elicits an association. As shown throughout thisbook, brands spend huge amounts of time and money developing the brand image andpositioning they want.Each brand has its own position in the market. Cheap and cheerful, middle of the roador… the realms of Louis Vuitton. Part of the LVMH empire, this iconic fashion house hasan unequivocal association of quality, craftsmanship and unbridled luxury. Rich inparadox, contrasts and seeming opposites, Louis Vuitton has caught the eye and walletsof the rich and famous, just rich, and the fashion-conscious for over 150 years. So what’sthe story behind this must-have brand? How did they get where they are? And has itremained the same, or is it also changing with the times?

Times of horse and carriage

Some companies would balk at being described as traditional, but not LV. The companyhas a long and proud history dating back to 1854. Louis Vuitton was born in 1821 in Jura,France. Filled with ambition, Vuitton decided he was going to have to move to the centrestage of fashion – Paris – and so in 1835 he set off by foot on the 400-km journey. Oncethere, he managed to find a job as an apprentice Layetier, or trunk-and box-maker, forprominent households.He soon established a reputation for quality, and Napoleon III of France appointedVuitton as Layetier to his wife, Empress Eugénie de Montijo. Over time, his experiencewith the French aristocracy allowed him to develop expert knowledge on what compriseda good travelling case. It was then that he began to design his own luggage, setting thefoundations for LV Co.Vuitton founded ‘Louis Vuitton: Malletier à Paris’ in 1853 where he introduced his flat-bottom, lightweight and airtight trunks. Before their introduction, travellers usedrounded-top trunks, which allowed water to run off. These, however, could not bestacked, making them a hindrance in the horse-and-carriage travel of the time.In 1867, the company participated in the universal exhibition in Paris. To protect againstthe duplication of his look, he changed the Trianon design to a beige and brown stripesdesign in 1876. In 1885, the company opened its first store in London on Oxford Street.Soon after, due to the continuing imitation of his look, the Damier Canvas pattern wascreated by Louis Vuitton in 1888, bearing a logo that reads “marque L. Vuitton déposée,” which translates roughly as “mark L. Vuitton deposited” or, roughly, “L. Vuittontrademark”. Louis Vuitton died in 1892, leaving his son what would become the world’spremier luxury goods company.

Last century

After the death of his father, Georges Vuitton began a campaign to build the companyinto a worldwide corporation, exhibiting the company’s products at the Chicago WorldFair in 1893. In 1896, the company launched the legendary Monogram Canvas andpatented it worldwide. Its graphic symbols, including quatrefoils and flowers as well asthe LV monogram, were based on the trend of using Japanese and Oriental designs in thelate Victorian era. The patents later proved successful in stopping counterfeiting. In thissame year, Georges travelled to the United States, where he toured various cities,including New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, and selling Vuitton products during thevisit. In 1901, the Louis Vuitton Company introduced the Steamer Bag, a smaller piece of luggage designed to be kept inside Vuitton luggage trunks.By 1914, the Louis Vuitton Building opened on the Champs- Elysees. It was the largesttravel-goods store in the world at the time. Stores also opened in New York, Bombay,Washington, London, Alexandria, and Buenos Aires as World War I began. In 1936Georges Vuitton passed away, and, his son, Gaston- Louis Vuitton, assumed control of the company.During this period, the look of the leather was used in everything from small purses andwallets to larger pieces of luggage. To broaden its line, the company revamped itssignature Monogram Canvas in 1959 to make it more supple and allowing it to be usedfor purses, bags, and wallets. Audrey Hepburn is seen carrying the bag in the 1963 filmCharade. It is believed that in the 1960s, counterfeiting returned as a greater issue tocontinue on into the 21st century (see below).