RE-VO-LUTION 3- 20/8/2022

THE HISTORY OF LOUIS VUITTON

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Famed for being one of the most recognised luxury
brands in the world, Louis Vuitton is synonymous with
high-end leather goods, legendary steamer trunks, iconic
monogram handbags, sublime watches and jewelry and
cutting edge fashion. Louis Vuitton was a French fashion
designer and skilled craftsman and he established his
eponymous brand in Paris in 1854. Vuitton started his
career making trunks for Napoleon III's wife, Empress
Eugénie de Montijo, and it was at the age of 33 that he
opened his own artisanal workshop at 4 Rue Neuve-des-
Capucines. Thus came to fruition the beginnings of his
much-lauded brand, Louis Vuitton.
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The early years of Louis Vuitton began in an age when
steam, boat and horse-drawn carriage were the main
methods of travel. Vuitton's skilled craftsmanship in
trunk making saw him create groundbreaking flat-topped
stackable cases that were both waterproof and light as a
feather. To this day, Louis Vuitton trunks, with their
monogram logos and revolutionary unpickable spring
buckle single lock systems are highly sought after and
collectable. When Louis Vuitton died in 1892 his son
Georges took the helm and four years later the very first
'LV' monogram, quatrefoil and flower design canvas was
launched. That signature monogram design is the one
still seen on Louis Vuitton handbags, jewelry and
clothing and it remains a symbol of luxury travel,
sophistication and style.

Coco Chanel Requests A Handbag

Fast becoming an iconic brand noted for exceptional
craftsmanship and outstanding designs, Louis Vuitton
caught the eye of Gabrielle Coco Chanel, who
commissioned a bespoke handbag in 1925. In the thirties
she allowed the bag to be mass-produced, thus beginning
Louis Vuitton's foray into smaller luxury leather goods.
Today, that bag is known as the Alma. Other iconic
handbag designs that have stood the test of time include
the 1930s legendary Keepall, the Audrey Hepburn
requested Speedy 25, the 1932 Noé bucket bag and the
1966 cylindrical Papillon.

The Birth Of LVMH

It was in 1987 that Louis Vuitton merged with
Champagne and cognac brands Moet et Chandon and
Hennessy. Together they created the parent
conglomerate, LVMH. The deal was worth over £3
million and since then many more luxury brands have
joined the group. The conglomerate took the Maison to
stratospheric heights. From emblematic handbags to
cutting edge ready-to-wear and collaborations with
Takeshi Murakami to Marc Jacobs becoming Creative
Director, the nineties onwards saw Louis Vuitton
establish itself as a leading 'fashion' house. Alongside
clothing, bags and luggage, in the 2000s came Louis
Vuitton jewelry, sunglasses, shoes and perfumes, all of
which reflect the company's extraordinary heritage and
love of travel and design. Among Louis Vuitton's most
iconic handbags is the Neverfull tote which was
introduced in 2007 and is cleverly designed to hold up to
200 pounds of weight. One of the most recognised bags
in the world, the Neverfull is both a stylish city bag and a
sophisticated travel tote.

The Late Nineteen

1997 saw American fashion designer Marc Jacobs come
on board as Creative Director. It was under his influence
that Louis Vuitton entered ready-to-wear and Jacobs
transformed the brand from a high profile luggage label
into a high fashion empire. He also launched Vuitton's
first jewelry range, based on a collection of charms.

The 2000s Introduced Both Fine & High Jewelry

2004 saw a fluid movement into fine jewelry and in 2009
a further move into high jewelry. At present Francesca
Amfitheatrof is the brand's Artistic Director of jewelry
and watches. It was in 2009 that the brand patented two
petal diamond cuts that are exclusive to Louis Vuitton
and represent its signature monogram. Louis Vuitton
jewelry is awash with legendary motifs which can be
found in their much-celebrated collections as well as in
the rare and extraordinary coloured gemstones of their
annual high jewelry designs. The fine jewelry Lockit
collection features the brand's famous padlocks,
seamlessly blending pink jadeite with pink gold and
white diamonds with white gold. The fine jewelry Sun
and Star collection embellishes graceful pieces with
diamonds and pearls and is delicately inspired by the
brand's famous logos. From motif charm bracelets and
necklaces to monogram rings influenced by the Maison's
leather goods collections, Louis Vuitton jewelry cleverly
fuses an extraordinary heritage with a contemporary
twist. As covetable as the brand's handbags, its jewels are
both distinctive and timeless.
From steamer trunk making history to iconic monogram
handbags and from signature jewelry to ethereal
perfumes, Louis Vuitton is the most valuable luxury
brand in the world - exclusive, relatable and ever so
beautiful.

CONTEMPLATION

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Losing oneself in one’s thoughts or letting the mind wander
is an underrated activity that is more rewarding the more it
is practiced, an academic study has claimed.

Psychologists who studied a group of more than 250 people

encouraged to engage in directionless contemplation or
free-floating thinking said that the activity was far more
satisfying than the participants had anticipated.

The academics, from the University of Tübingen in

southern Germany, were keen to find out why, despite
being the only species capable of sitting still and thinking
to themselves, humans are generally reluctant to make use
of this talent.

They say their series of experiments culminating in their

study show that people enjoy letting their minds wander
once given the chance to do it, though some still find it a
strenuous activity.

They also revealed that – as previous studies have

demonstrated – losing yourself in your thoughts can aid
problem solving, increase creativity, enhance the
imagination and contribute to a sense of self-worth.

Despite this, most people are more likely to let themselves

be distracted than to delve into their own thoughts or just
stare out the window.

Smartphones have inevitably made it easier to seek and find

distraction and have contributed to a loss of the habit of
free thinking, the authors believed. Some people simply
found it hard to spend time with their own thoughts,
especially if they tended towards negative thinking, they
said.

The study’s leader, Kou Murayama, the professor of

pedagogical psychology at the University of Tübingen, said
people generally found it hard to estimate the extent to
which contemplation was something to be valued; rather,
they considered other activities as more attractive – until
they were encouraged to let their minds wander.

“This could explain why people prefer to keep busy rather

than to enjoy a moment of reflection or letting their
imagination run away with itself in their everyday lives,”
Murayama said.

The study, in which 259 people took part, has been

published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

The experiments included asking participants to estimate

the extent to which they would appreciate sitting on their
own and thinking to themselves for 20 minutes. They were
forbidden to use a smartphone, to read, or to walk around.

According to the results, every one of them found their

enjoyment at letting their minds wander was far greater
than they had expected. This remained the case even when
the experiment conditions were altered, including putting
participants alone in a sparse conference room, placing
them in a dark tent or cupboard, or letting them sit alone for
just three minutes or for 20.

Sometimes they were asked to comment on how they were

feeling while in the middle of the sessions, sometimes after
they were completed. But in every case the participants said
their enjoyment was greater than they had anticipated

A test group of other participants were given access to

digital devices, and allowed to read the news online.
Initially the expectation had been that those given digital
devices would enjoy the activity better, not least because
those chosen to contemplate were less than enthusiastic to
hear about what activity the “rival” group had been offered.

However, in the questionnaires that were subsequently

completed both groups were found to have gained equal
enjoyment from their activities.

“These results in the flood-of-information age we live in

are of particular importance,” Murayama told German
media.

THE STORY

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1. Poor or rich
One day, a rich dad took his son on a trip to a poor village.
He wanted to show his son how the people in the village
lived. They spent time on a farm of one of the poorest
families. At the end of the day, the dad asked: “Did you see
how poor they are? What did you learn?”

The boy answered: “We have a dog, they have four. We

have a pool, they have a river. We buy food and they grow
theirs. We have walls to protect us, they have friends.”

After they left, the boy wanted to tell his dad the truth.
“Well, thanks for showing me how poor we are”, said the
boy.

After they left, the boy wanted to tell his dad the truth.
“Well, thanks for showing me how poor we are”, said the
boy.

2. What is the afterlife like?

Sidy and Irve are business partners. They made a deal that
whoever dies first will contact the living one from the
afterlife. So Irve dies. Sidy doesn’t hear from him for about
a year, figures there is no afterlife. Then one day he gets a
call. It’s Irv. “So there is an afterlife! What’s it like?” Sid
asks. “Well, I slept very late. I get up, have a big breakfast.
Then I have sex, lots of sex. Then I go back to sleep, but I
get up for lunch, have a big lunch. Have some more sex,
take a nap. Huge dinner. More sex. Go to sleep and wake up
the next day.” “Oh, my God,” says Sid. “So that’s what
heaven is like?” “Oh no,” says Irv. “I’m not in heaven. I’m
a bear in Yellowstone Park.”

3. Shy people cannot teach courage

Once there lived a hind in a forest. She had a son who had
grown very young and strong. She was very happy to see
his stout body and branched strong horns and thought,
“stags have powerful horns, why should they be afraid of
hounds, wolves then? It’s sheer cowardice. I would never
like my son to do it at all.”

After some time, the hind’s son came there. The hind
wanted to teach him to be courageous. She said, “Son! You
have a stout body and strong horns. So, you must not run
away from hounds and wolves. Don’t be a coward.”

“Ok, mom; I won’t”, said the stag. Just then the mother and
the son heard the bark of the hounds. The hind got ready to
run away when her son asked her to stay on. She said, “You
may, but I have no horns.”

Saying so, she ran as fast as she could. The mother herself
was a coward and was teaching courage to her son. What a
satire!

4. Never fight for trivial things

It was high summer. A traveler hired a donkey and set out

on a journey. The owner of the donkey was following
behind to drive the beast. At mid-day, they decided to take a
rest for some time but couldn’t find any shady place around.
So, the traveler decided to rest in the shade of the donkey.
But the owner didn’t let him do so as he himself wanted to
sit in its shadow.

The traveler said, “How can you refuse me the shadow? I

have paid you money after all.”

“But you have paid for the ride, not for resting in his
shadow”, retorted the owner. So, an argument followed
between the two. When the donkey saw that the owner and
the hirer were busy fighting, he took to his heels and was
soon out of sight.

THE UNTAMED

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6 Reasons To Watch C-Drama “The Untamed,” A

Study In How To Rip Your Heart To Shreds And
Mend It Again ( Section 1 )

People are people

Irreverent, cheerful, playful, devoted, loyal, ruthless, clever,

cunning… There are so many ways to describe the protagonist
of “The Untamed.” Wei Wuxian (played by Xiao Zhan) is a
fantastic character and will make you fall for him right off the
bat with his antics.

But what makes him so lovable is that he is, first and foremost,
human. He loves, he laughs, he fears and rages and grieves.
He’s a good person who’s capable of terrible deeds, and in the
same way, the villains of the story are capable of true love even
while their hands are stained with blood.

“The Untamed” ultimately remains a story about people who

do what they can with what they’re given. Although the live
action tamped down a lot on the many shades of gray that make
up the original novel (go read it!), you can still see them.

One example would be the way hatred affects different people

in the story. One of the characters stews in it for over 13 years,
another manages to forgive if not forget, and another takes his
time to plan a meticulous, terrible revenge. Shades of emotions,
shades of gray. People.

Subtlety, thy name is Wangxian

A few months ago, I swore to myself I would never ever

watch “The Untamed.” I had just heard that the production
team was planning on replacing the epic love story
between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji (played by Wang
Yibo) with female love interests and just couldn’t take it.
Yet when the show came out, everyone was talking about
how unsubtle it was regarding the relationship between the
two men.

After thoroughly investigating the matter (over the course

of 50 episodes, because go big or go home, right?), I can
now gladly say that “The Untamed” managed to go far
above and beyond even “Guardian“ in its absolute lack of
even trying to conceal the true nature of the
deuteragonists’ feelings for each other.

If anything, they actually changed the original storyline to

make this relationship more intense, and both Xiao Zhan
and Wang Yibo do a fantastic job at portraying this
unlikely pairing.

Great acting

While Wang Yibo might seem very inanimate at first with

his dead gaze, it’s absolutely amazing to see him come
alive as Lan Wang Ji grows closer to Wei Wuxian. Wang
Yibo managed to convey Lan Wangji’s micro-expressions
perfectly, to the point that you just can’t imagine anybody
else in his place. The way he looks at Wei Wuxian like he
hung the moon and stars, the way his lips turn up at the
corner into the tiniest smile, the way his entire expression
softens when Wei Wuxian walks into the room… It's a
great portrayal of a character who’s largely known to be
expressionless and therefore all the harder to play.

On the other hand, Xiao Zhan appears as the flawless

incarnation of a playful, mischievous, loyal, fierce Wei
Wuxian, laidback and bright straight up until somebody
threatens the people he calls his own. The sheer diversity
of his facial expressions and the way his body is in
constant movement make for a perfect embodiment of a
vivid character.

They couldn’t be more different. They’re the perfect pair

Excellent character development

Good acting and a soul-wrenching relationship don't make

a hit drama, some will undoubtedly say. What, then, gives
“The Untamed” the power it has over its fans?

The answer is simple: excellent character relationships and

development. Each character is a world in themselves,
with a complex backstory of their own and the
relationships to match. More than that, each of them
changes so much. You can truly feel the difference, the
long way they came from the first to the last episode, and
how their ties to the people around them shifted in
response to that evolution.