14 Interesting Facts About Louis Vuitton

Do you want to learn interesting and fun facts about Louis Vuitton?

Louis Vuitton Malletier, popularly known as Louis Vuitton, is a French luxury fashion house and company started by Louis Vuitton in 1854.

The label’s LV monogram is on most of its products, from luxury bags and leather goods to ready-to-wear, watches, shoes, jewelry, sunglasses, accessories, and books. Louis Vuitton is one of the best fashion companies in the world.

RELATED READ:

• 29 Famous French People That You Should Know
• 11 Famous French Designers That Revolutionized Fashion

There is much to learn about and get inspiration from the man behind his eponymous brand, Louis Vuitton. Let’s find out some of the most interesting facts about Louis Vuitton in the following list.

14 Interesting Facts About Louis Vuitton

1. Louis Vuitton was born poor

Louis Vuitton became rich and famous for his luxury goods, but did you know he was born into a family that included farmers, artists, and carpenters?

Vuitton was born in 1835 in a small village located in the eastern region of France. When he was ten years old, his mother passed away, and not long after that, his father did as well.

Vuitton moved away from his hometown of Anchay due to his challenging relationship with his stepmother.

2. Louis walked over 290 miles for two years of his life to reach Paris

When Louis was only 13 years old, he bolted from his family’s home. He was responsible for teaching himself how to take care of himself.

In order to get to Paris, it took him two years and more than 470 kilometers of walking!

While he was on his trip, he held a variety of jobs in order to bring in some income and locate a place to sleep.

This demonstrates Louis’s level of determination, which was something that would be evident in his work when he first started his company.

3. Louis Vuitton was an apprentice of Monsieur Maréchal

When Vuitton finally got to Paris in 1837, he was 16 years old. He went to work for Monsieur Maréchal, a woodworker who made luggage boxes for horse-drawn chariots, boats, and trains.

Vuitton worked for Monsieur Maréchal for 17 years before deciding to start his own luggage workshop. During that time, he learned a lot and got a good reputation as a craftsman.

4. Louis Vuitton made trunks for King Napoleon III’s wife

Another interesting facts about Louis Vuitton before he began his own atelier is that he worked as a trunk-maker for Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie. Around this time he made the first lock that couldn’t be picked for his bags and trunks.

When Napoleon III put back together the French Empire, Vuitton was offered a job making trunks for the Empress of France. This job allowed the man to meet and get to know other royal and high-class clients with whom Vuitton would later work.

5. In 1854, Louis Vuitton’s atelier was opened at 4 Rue Neuve des Capucines

In 1837, Louis Vuitton moved to Paris, intending to establish his own business there. During his apprenticeship for the renowned trunk-maker Monsieur Marechal in Paris, he gained valuable knowledge and experience in the field of trunk-making.

After establishing a name for himself as a great trunk-maker when he was still a teenager, he opened his first atelier at number 4 Rue Neuve des Capucines in Paris. He was 33 years old.

6. Louis Vuitton’s residence was next to his shop

The work that he did was really an essential aspect of Louis Vuitton’s life. The man built his home in the garden next to his workshop to be always near his work. He lived there with his wife.

Today, the home still stands there, and it still looks the same. However, it has been converted into a museum since, which you can visit when you purchase one of those expensive LV trunks.

7. He designed neither a handbag nor a clothing

The Louis Vuitton brand didn’t produce and sell handbags and clothing until many years after Mr. Vuitton passed away. The brand’s handbag collection and clothing line only became part of the House of Louis Vuitton when American fashion designer Marc Jacobs took the reigns of the House and became its creative director in the late 1990s.

8. Louis Vuitton bagged medals in 1867

In 1867, Louis Vuitton was awarded a bronze medal for the innovative trunk designs he displayed at the famous Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Later on, Louis Vuitton was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition of 1889, which was the same event that prompted the construction of the Eiffel Tower. It is difficult to believe that the designs used by Vuitton date back even further than the most well-known symbol of France!

9. He devoted himself to rebuilding his workshop after the Franco-Prussian War

The demand for Vuitton’s goods slowed down during the Franco-Prussian War. His atelier was looted and destroyed during that conflict.

Within a few short months of the destruction of his shop, Vuitton threw himself wholeheartedly into the process of reconstructing his company.

In 1871, he set up shop in a brand-new, more opulent location in the middle of Paris.

10. Louis Vuitton died at the age of 70

Louis Vuitton succumbed to an aggressive type of brain cancer in 1892. He was 70 years old. Following his passing, his son Georges assumed control of the family enterprise. Throughout his lifetime, Louis Vuitton enjoyed widespread acclaim and popularity. Most people had a favorable opinion of him.

11. The iconic “LV” logo was designed by Louis Vuitton’s son

The interlocking “LV” letters have become synonymous with the company and are recognized worldwide.

Georges Vuitton, Louis Vuitton’s only child, designed the logo in 1896, four years after his father died.

The logo, which was designed and introduced to build the Louis Vuitton brand, became quite famous. Today, this “LV” logo is one of the most recognizable symbols that represent fashion.

12. Georges Vuitton publicly challenged Harry Houdini to try the safety lock he and his late father created

Before Louis Vuitton died, he and his son Georges came up with a new way to lock luggage that was revolutionary at the time.

Thieves often would look for wealthy people’s expensive luggage bags. The new system made it more secure for customers and harder for robbers and thieves to crack.

A few years later, when Georges got a patent for the system, he challenged escape artist and magician Harry Houdini to get out of their luggage trunk. Houdini declined the challenge.

13. LV has been managed by three generations of Vuitton

Louis Vuitton founded and named the company after himself, but his son and grandson ran it after his passing. His next of kin, son Georges Vuitton, died in 1936. Louis Vuitton’s grandson Gaston took the reigns of the company, continuing his grandfather’s legacy.  

Under Gaston’s leadership, Louis Vuitton expanded its product line. The use of leather in Louis Vuitton products has always been central to the brand. Gaston began producing smaller leather bags and other items related to suitcases and luggages.

14. The Chief Executive Officer of LVMH is the richest man in the world today

Bernard Arnault is the CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate. This title has been his since 1989, when Arnault became the majority shareholder of the group.

Today, Bernard Arnault has become the richest man not only in France or Europe but the whole world, with an estimated net worth of US$181.8 billion as of December 2022.