Twenty9: Mr. Louis Vuitton

I think that everybody knows Louis Vuitton!
In Amsterdam we have 2 stores, one on the P.C. and one in "De Bijenkorf"
and that's why we see them alot! And also the fake ones from my friends in Turkey..
I wanted to know more about this brand..so I did a little research..

Mr. Louis Vuitton, Louis Vuitton (4 August 1821 – 27 February 1892),was the founder of the world-famous Louis Vuitton brand of leather goods. He had established a reputation in his fields of making luggage, he was appointed as trunk-maker to the wife of Napoleon III. Through his experience with French royalty, he developed advanced knowledge of what made a good travelling case. It was then that he began to design his own luggage, setting the foundations for LV.

In 1858, Vuitton introduced his flat-bottom trunks with trianon canvas, making them lightweight and airtight. It was Vuitton's grey Trianon canvas flat trunk that allowed the ability to stack with ease for voyages. Becoming successful and prestigious, many other luggagemakers began to imitate LV's style and design.

After the death of his father, Georges Vuitton began a campaign to build the company into a worldwide corporation, exhibiting the company's products at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. In 1896, the company launched the signature Monogram Canvas and made the worldwide patents on it.

During 1932, LV introduced the Noé bag. This bag was originally made for champagne vintners to transport bottles. Soon thereafter, the Louis Vuitton Speedy bag was introduced (both are still manufactured today). In 1936 Georges Vuitton died, and his son, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, assumed control of the company.

In 1987 saw the creation of LVMH. Moët et Chandon and Hennessy, leading manufacturers of champagne and cognac, merged respectively with Louis Vuitton to form the luxury goods conglomerate. By 1989, Louis Vuitton came to operate 130 stores worldwide.Entering the 1990s, In 1996, the celebration of the Centennial of the Monogram Canvas was held in seven cities worldwide.

After introducing its pen collection in 1997, Louis Vuitton made Marc Jacobs alongside Jae its Art Directors the following year in 1998. In March of the following year, they designed and introduced the company's first "prêt-à-porter" line of clothing for men and women. Also in this year products introduced included the Monogram Vernis line, the LV scrapbooks, and the Louis Vuitton City Guide.

By 2001, Stephen Sprouse, in collaboration with Marc Jacobs, designed a limited-edition line of Vuitton bags that featured graffiti written over the monogram pattern. Jacobs also created the charm bracelet, the first ever piece of jewelry from LV, within the same year.

In 2003, Takashi Murakamiin collaboration with Marc Jacobs, masterminded the new Monogram Multicolore canvas range of handbags and accessories. Murakami also created the Cherry Blossom pattern, in which smiling cartoon faces in the middle of pink and yellow flowers were sporadically placed atop the Monogram Canvas. This pattern appeared on a limited number of pieces.