Louis Vuitton was born on August 4, 1821 in the Jura village of Anchay, in the Jura region of France. Growing up not far from a forest, young Louis developed an affinity for wood: he loved it, understood it and grew to master it. At the tender age of 14, Louis decided that his destiny was elsewhere. In the space of two years, he traveled the 400 kilometers that separated his native village from Paris all by himself. Hired at age 16 to be an apprentice trunkmaker-packer, Louis learned how to craft wooden boxes and cases to protect and transport the most precious goods. In 1854, he founded his own workshop under his own name. Driven by an unquenchably innovative spirit, he strove to surpass the mere functionality of an object by marrying durability with the utmost refinement.

Today, the extraordinary work pioneered by Louis Vuitton continues. To celebrate the bicentenary of his birth, the Maison invited talents and friends from the Art, Culture, Science and Sports scenes to reinvent an original trunk, in the same dimensions as the one Louis created in 1854. This initiative brought forth 200 one-of-a-kind transformations, between abstract concepts and artistic expressions, in the framework of a unique traveling exhibition.

In 1859, on a little corner of countryside just outside Paris in Asnières-sur-Seine, Louis Vuitton constructed both his family home and trunkmaking ateliers. Here, artisans worked in a metal-framed building to craft the trunks whose excellence is a great source of pride. In 1888, the moment was captured in a family photo, taken in the courtyard of the Asnières workshop. Gathered around a delivery truck are the trunkmakers, leather goods artisans and three generations of the Vuitton family. Louis is seated in front of his trunks, with Georges at his side. His grandson Gaston-Louis is stretched out on the trunk-bed.

One hundred and thirty years later, in front of the same façade and on the same cobblestones, a modern photo tells a different story. The Asnières site now welcomes clients eager to see their wildest dreams take form, along with new employees who marvel in wonder, designers in quest of inspiration and visitors with avid curiosity. This historic address is the cradle of Louis Vuitton’s savoir-faire, a place where each day brings a new adventure and where anything is possible.

A visual code known as a symbol of excellence and rarity and still, a secret to discover. The Monogram motif invites a myriad of interpretations. Created in 1896 by Georges Vuitton as a tribute to his father, the image of the Maison was expressed by four shapes: a diamond with a four-petal flower inside, a negative shape of the same flower, a circle with a cutout of the flower and the interlaced LV initials. A timeless coat of arms, the Monogram is instantly synonymous with the name Louis Vuitton.

1959. A refreshing breeze of freedom as the New Wave sweeps across everything in its path. Supple luggage rides this wave with panache. The Monogram canvas comes to city bags, wallets, card holders and other leather goods. Icons are born as Speedy, Keepall and Noé transform streets around the world into fashion runways. From New York artist Stephen Sprouse, spray painting bags with graffiti to Japan’s Takashi Murakami and his pop palette to streetwear brand Supreme and Jeff Koons with his “Masters” collection, the Monogram story is enhanced with avant-garde collaborations. It is forever young. Boosted by an equally bold approach since 2019, with the Artycapucines collection, the iconic Capucines bag reinvents itself in original interpretations each created by a contemporary artist.

New technologies and the desire to push boundaries have always inspired Louis Vuitton, for whom products are true treasures of savoir-faire. A unique key, an exclusive personal number, the invention of the five-tumbler lock in 1890 was a minor technological revolution. This patented unpickable lock transformed the trunk into a secure safe. Even the renowned escape artist Houdini declined to challenge the exceptional creation that allowed travelers to voyage in total tranquility. The optimism and excitement of new ideas that marked the early 20th century had special resonance in Asnières. In the park around the Atelier, apprentice inventors Pierre and Jean Vuitton designed the Vuitton-Huber. Displayed at the 1909 Exposition Internationale de la Locomotion Aérienne in the Grand Palais in Paris, the aircraft was equipped with two rotors turning in opposite directions and is considered one of the earliest precursors of the modern helicopter.

No matter the field, today Louis Vuitton brings both its innovative spirit coupled with its traditional savoir-faire, surprising the world with creative inventions from the cutting-edge Tambour Horizon Connected Watch to a high-tech Trophy Trunk for the League of Legends championship, a first in esports history.

1854. Louis Vuitton became friends with haute couture pioneer Charles Frederick Worth and, in the window of his very first shop on Paris’ rue Neuve-des-Capucines, displayed a sign announcing his “specialization in fashion packing.” While fashion was always intertwined with the Maison’s trunk-making and packing activities, it was under the guidance of Marc Jacobs that women’s ready-to-wear saw the light of day in 1997. Men’s ready-to-wear was created in 1999 for the first Men’s show in 2000, before being taken over by the creative genius of Kim Jones from 2011 to 2018.

Today, the women’s and men’s ready-to-wear studios hone their vision to perpetuate the Louis Vuitton spirit. They adapt to every woman and every man by offering an incredible variety of creations, striking an impressive balance between comfort and functionality. Singular silhouettes allow for freedom of movement in perfect elegance. Nourished by history, codes, materials and colors, Louis Vuitton fashion also seeks out the new with extremely innovative and even futuristic fabrics. Spurred on by this vision, ready-to-wear adds a new vocabulary to Louis Vuitton’s style, inspired by a flexible, fluid world in constant motion.

At Louis Vuitton, staging is an art in itself. Present early on at World Fairs, the Maison distinguished itself with elaborate displays such as a carousel-like stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Later, led by Louis’ grandson, the visionary aesthete Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the Maison’s store windows became pure visual treats for onlookers, establishing their creation as a true artform, an expertise inseparable from the history and culture of Louis Vuitton.

Since then, the Maison’s flair for staging has expanded to fashion shows and cultural exhibitions: expressed in the form of set design, architecture, dance and music, these displays are unforgettable invitations for the mind to travel.

In the era of Art Deco, Louis Vuitton crafts vanity cases, transforming everyday objects into objets d’art. In a prologue to its first perfumes, the Maison showcases its creativity in travel flasks. The 1925 Paris Decorative Arts Exposition unveils Louis Vuitton’s first collaborations with leading designers, featuring furniture, glassware and ceramics. Trunks and vanity cases are fitted with luxurious compacts, brushes and eaux de Cologne. The 50-piece Milano toiletries case includes cut crystal vials with vermillion stoppers, along with beauty travel essentials.

Enter the first perfume signed Louis Vuitton, Heures d’Absence, encased in a mythical bottle shaped like roadside mile markers as an invitation to travel the world. Je Tu Il, Réminiscences and Eau de Voyage soon followed, although their ephemeral formulations will forever remain a mystery. In 2021, in an untiring quest to master the most beautiful raw materials, Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud set out to explore the world. He returned with the purest and most precious oud wood, which he personally selected in Bangladesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas. He used this rare and powerful resin to compose PUR OUD, an ode to travel and a journey in itself.