Louis Vuitton: The Birth of Modern Luxury

In 1854, the elite and high society discovered the art of traveling in style. Louis Vuitton had just invented the first modern suitcase, a perfect combination of elegance, sophistication, and practicality: a flat-sided suitcase made of poplar wood covered in waterproof canvas. The capital letters "LV," now a symbol, began to appear everywhere, from the great ocean liners to the Gobi Desert. Louis Vuitton had turned travel into an art for the great and powerful of this world. Luxury was no longer synonymous with ostentation. Rather, it represented the desire to project an orderly and harmonious image to the world. In 1997, the Louis Vuitton luggage manufacturer took a bold leap into the unknown by entrusting Marc Jacobs with the task of introducing it to the fashion market. It was a new success of unimaginable proportions.

This book is the first to describe and explain, with numerous previously unpublished documents and analyses, the fascinating rise of the quintessential luxury brand, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004.