Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Malletier was born in 1821 in Cons-le-Sannier, France. A son of a carpenter, in 1835 he walked the 250 miles to Paris to become an apprentice to the famous trunk-maker Marechal. It was a good start for a young artisan – Marechal was making trunks and was an imperial layetier (or clothes packer), for Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.. Louis Vuitton recognized a need for flat trunks, which could go in the cargo hold of ocean-going ships or on luggage racks of trains, without being damaged. When he grasped as much knowledge as he could, he formed a company in 1854 to make high quality luggage. Right from the beginning, Louis Vuitton insisted on extraordinary quality and artisanship, catering to the rich people who appreciated the beauty of his products.
In 1872 he introduced the striped red and beige color scheme which has remained instantly recognizable. In 1876, he invented the wardrobe trunk, which had a rail inside and small drawers. Louis Vuitton opened his first London store in 1885. His signature LV monogram was introduced in 1886, and his check board canvas design was introduced in 1888 with the help of his son Georges. Louis Vuitton died in 1892, and his son Georges Vuitton carried on his company. In 1943, Henry Racamier (born 1913) married Odile Vuitton, great-granddaughter of Louis Vuitton. Racamier had already made a fortune in the steel industry by 1970 before he was asked to run the family's leather goods business. He took over the company in 1977 at the age of 65 and over the next decade transformed it from a small business to an international powerhouse with 100 stores all over the world. By the time Racamier took over, the once-magical Louis Vuitton operations appeared still mired in the 19th century. Louis Vuitton had only two stores, one in Paris and one in Nice, and had annual revenue of about $14 million. Bringing management skills acquired in the steel business, Racamier modernized the way Vuitton made and marketed its leather goods; and, more important, he tapped the immense Asian market. Racamier oversaw many milestones, the first Japanese store in 1978, the first Korean store in 1984, the introduction of their EPI leather line in 1987 and the first Chinese store. Same year, in 1987, fearing outside takeover, Racamier merged the company with the Champagne group Moet Hennessy, run by Bernard Arnault, which is now one of the world's most powerful luxury goods conglomerates owning Dior, Givenchy and other fashion houses. The combination LVMH appeared, meaning Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Then, in 1990 in a bitter battle with the current chairman, Bernard Arnault, Racamier was stripped of power and ousted from the board. He died in early 2003 at the age of 90. Patrick Louis Vuitton, the great grandson of the founder, is a current President of the Louis Vuitton. Yves Carcelle was appointed as C.E.O. in 1990. In 1997, the house of Louis Vuitton decided to branch out into ready-to-wear womenswear, with young American designer Marc Jacobs as an artistic director. The very first collection was a huge success. Understated and streamlined, Louis Vuitton clothes exude effortless luxury while at the same time being fresh and innocently sexy – "whimsical and indulgent and precious”, as Marc Jacobs describes them. It was Marc Jacobs who encouraged modern artists to make limited edition collection of handbags for Louis Vuitton. In 2001, Stephen Sprouse designed a Graffiti bag. Julie Verhoeven, the popular illustrator and fashion designer, made a fairytale appliqué set of bags in 2002. In 2003, Japanese designer Takashi Murakami created the "Eye Love" handbag range, which generated $ 300 million in sales since its introduction. In January 2004 Louis Vuitton celebrated its 150th anniversary. This season Marc Jacobs chose Naomi Campbell, Angela Lindvall and Kate Moss to star in the advertising campaign, looking to recreate the phenomenon of supermodel. 2005 ads include Diane Kruger, Christina Ricci, Scarlett Johansson and Chloe Sevigny. There is a rumor that next Louis Vuitton girl will be 6ft tall blonde Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova.