Louis Vuitton covers the fashion of the iconic designer with 5 chapters: Early Years, Key Pieces, Fashion Collection, and People and Collaborations. Founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton's family specialized in luggage. His son George designed the Monogram in 1896. In 1901, the first handbag was launched, which led to the Sac Marin in 1927, the Speedy, and the Noé In 1932. Hey expanded all over the world and are still around today. It is amazing that the line is still going strong and is a testament to the design and quality of their pieces.
The line was born. In Eastern France. Vuitton lost his parents as a very young boy and set off at age 12 for Paris, on foot. It says a lot about his vision and resolve to succeed. He learned his craft well and piqued my interest when I wandered the malls. He also attracted the eye of Mrs Napoleon III, Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew, so his future was assured on a golden path. By 1854, the boutique opened on the Place Vendôme , which is still part of the fashion mega-location. by 1867, he won a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris and was providing goods to the wealthy. He employed many people, even after the passing of the founders, as their son inherited the business and expanded globally, including the United States. Coco.
The business stayed in the family. Each generation was tuned into the desires of the fans, carefully branding it as "luxury". Coco Chanel was a client.
In 1984,, the brand went public and grew. They currently own more than 75 high-end brands. It is easy to spot the Monogram design of the handbags and luggage. The University I attended was across the street from a mall that has an LV boutique and representation in the large department stores. I still remember how I felt when I saw the pieces and loved the look immediately. I used to Jump into the mall between classes to decompress, and so, over the years, I saw the seasonal pieces and read fashion magazines that often highlighted the bags. It took many years for me to take one home. My puppy loved it too, and he chewed on the handles and ate the little tabs on the sides of the bag. I still carry it and smile when I see the vestiges of my dog's interest in my bag.
Obviously, many people have tried to copy the Vuitton designs, and the company has been vigilant in protecting the integrity of their workmanship.
The photographs in this book are so beautiful, even the black and white shots taken with beautiful models still retain their impact.
They are designed for convenience and style, and the shapes of the bags and wallets are classic and durable. The accessories are classic in their designs. They even made a trunk for travel that transformed into a bed! How creative is that?
Ernest Hemingway possessed a trunk that was lost that held the manuscript of A Moveable Feast. Luckily, they found it in a hotel basement! Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Lauren Bacall, Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve were customers and big fans.
In modern times, the company has released new designs that were available for one season, such as the white Murakami edition.
I marvelled at hearing that there is a tote bag called "The Neve rfull" that can carry up to 200 pounds inside!! Hillary Duff, Katie Holmes, and Diane Kruger carry it, although keeping it at a more executable weight. Other fans included the Indian Maharajas, King George VI of England,, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and her sister, Margaret.
Marc Jacobs came on board to design clothing. Nicolas Ghesquière and Pharell Williams were added to the line, and the lure of the brand has grown and is still admired for its style and luxury. Its star still burns bright all over the world and is presented in boutiques and top-notch Department Stores that set a mood. of luxury.. As of this writing, there are more than 460: stores in over 50 countries that present the pieces. it is part of LVMH, the largest purveyor of luxury stores that feature ready-to-wear clothing, leather products, shoes perfume, watches and jewelry, and books.
In the fashion realm, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell modelled the clothing. They are designing for men too..
In a nice touch, the book references the movies that featured the luggage and the bags. This line is so ensconced i our cultural history, it is referenced by 50 cent, Kanye West and Jay Z. I remember when Carrie gave a Vuitton bag to her assistant on Sex and the City. These are the innovations of a company that will remain relevant for a long time.
How many brands are still thriving 200 years after the birth of their founder? Although I would have asked for more color photos for my eyes to enjoy, this book would look great on my coffee table. The story of the brand took me out of my concerns and worries for a while.
An enjoyable read indeed.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC copy of the book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is a great resource for the inside of the company. Easy to read. Knowledge great. Layout great!

I got a digital galley copy of the book via netgalley. Though I have never bought any Louis Vuitton bags thus far, I found that the story of the origin of the brand the story interesting. The book has turned up pretty, with the way the book has been written, with the different pics of the products and the placements of these pics.

Info-rich text about this famous brand will please true fans. But I longed for more photos and illustrations to make the brand come to vivid life.

It's been almost 20 years since I started to follow fashion and high fashion brands like Louis Vuitton. I obviously knew about this brand before that but it was when I started to follow fashion shows and campaigns that I truly started to understand the brand. This book helped fill in the few gaps I still had.
We all love these types of books because they serve many purposes. They're beautiful to look at and make a great gift. They can be used as decoration around the house. That's all great but, for me, I need a bit more than that. I need them to also teach me something. So I was curious about how this book would do that task and I was very pleasantly surprised. There are photos in this book, of course. It's a fashion book so the visual element is vital. But it also has a lot of text and it's been very well put together.
I read this in one morning. Just casually reading paragraph after paragraph while having a cup of tea and I was done. I had learned so much in so little time, it was fantastic. So the purpose of this book, which is to look pretty but also teach people something in a casual setting, was completely achieved. We want these books to be picked up by that friend who is visiting to have a drink or chat about whatever is going on in their lives. They pick it up, take a look at the photos and read a few pages. Whichever page they choose to read will teach them something new so that's brilliant. And then we can chat about that fun fact on page 30. Just naming a random page to make the point here.

As I said, I'm a fashion fan. I know a lot about brands than most people won't know and yet I feel Louis Vuitton was a brand I didn't know as much about. When I first got into fashion, I heard the brand was all about the bags and the luggage but didn't know why. Reading about how this brand was created and how it revolutionised the world of luggage was what I needed to put all the pieces in the right place when it came to my knowledge of the brand. So many people choose products from this brand to travel around the world just because they're cute and good quality but are unaware of the history.
There is also information about the creative directors that have worked for the brand, which is not that many given how late the brand started to do ready-to-wear collections. But I loved reading more about the Marc Jacobs shows I was so in love with back in the day. It was one of the highlights of fashion weeks. Usually done on the last day, actually. What a great way to say goodbye to a month of fashion shows. And while reading about the pieces of luggage created by the brand, I couldn't help but remember the show with the big train and the models walking alongside people carrying their luggage. So iconic! It was really fun to then see it mentioned as one of the big productions done while Marc Jacobs was the designer.
It's also always interesting to hear about who started trends that are now so normal. Like collaborations between fashion brands and artists. It's so interesting to point out how Louis Vuitton was a pioneer brand in that regard, as they once were when it came to creating new types of luggage. Very cool to see how the brand has always been ahead of others in many ways.

I would definitely recommend this book and I'll check out the others from the same collection.

Great read that would be perfect for coffee table art! This covers the whole history of Louis Vuitton, from the early beginnings to the present day. From the history of the brand to celebrity endorsements, the depth of the brand shines in such a small book. I wish there were more photos of the vintage lines, other than that, I thought this was perfect!

Thank you netgalley for the arc!!

I have always wanted a Louis Vuitton 'Speedy' bag...I wish...sadly it's forever resigned to the bag of pipedreams.

However, this little gem made up for it 'a bit' as it regaled me with everything Vuitton, from history to handbags and everything in between.

There are some stunning images throughout of Vuitton's creations and his key pieces...the trunks, suitcases and more recently the bags and clothing.

The design of the entwined LV is synonymous with the designs and I was fascinated to learn how these came about, and also how to tell whether your Vuitton is a fake or not.

Interesting little book.