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Video: Post in memory of Patrick-Louis Vuitton: What made the heir of the fashion house start creating the legendary Louis Vuitton bags
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
On November 7, 2019, Patrick-Louis Vuitton, the heir to the legendary French fashion brand, passed away. He was the founder's great-great-grandson and a worthy successor to the family business. However, the famous fashion designer himself admitted in his interviews: he never aspired to work in this area, moreover, he responded with a categorical refusal to all attempts of relatives to attract him to the fashion industry. What made him go into the fashion business, and how did he manage to achieve success in this field?
From travel chests to fancy bags
16-year-old Louis Vuitton traveled to Paris for more than two years, leaving his hometown of Lons-le-Saunier. His ancestors had nothing to do with the fashion world, and he himself, going to the capital of France, had little idea of what he would do in the future. On the way, the future founder of the fashion house was interrupted by odd jobs that could provide him with food and a roof over his head. In Paris, he was lucky: the agile young man in 1837 was accepted as an apprentice in a workshop for the production of chests.
And in 1854, Louis Vuitton had already opened his own workshop, which four years later made a real revolution in the world of transportation of goods, presenting a new, rectangular shape of chests, which were convenient to stack for transportation, in contrast to the previously adopted shape with rounded lids.
And soon, travel suitcases covered with waterproof fabric with a convenient fastener located on the side appeared on the market. Following the suitcases, Vuitton's workshop began to produce special round bags for the driver, easily placed in the spare wheel hole, non-sinking suitcases with an original air cushion and original trunks that easily replaced a desk.
When Louis Vuitton passed away, the management of the family business fell on the shoulders of his son, and since then the heirs of the founder of the fashion house have invariably been engaged in the creation of fashionable bags. However, Patrick-Louis Vuitton, representing the fifth generation of the family, had no intention of becoming a fashion designer. He dreamed of becoming a veterinarian and treating pets.
Special order man
The grandparents of Patrick-Louis Vuitton prepared the boy to join the family business. But the stubborn young man invariably stood his ground: the production of suitcases and bags was completely uninteresting to him. However, after the death of his grandfather, he could no longer give up the family business, at least in memory of a man whom he loved and respected very much.
Learning the basics of the craft from scratch was not easy. The young man did not immediately become a fashion designer. He originally entered production in 1973 as a carpenter and began to learn the basics of making suitcases. Soon he could tell absolutely everything about how to make a beautiful and practical thing with his own hands.
Many years later, Patrick-Louis Vuitton admitted that he did not regret at all that he became part of the family business. He really got carried away with his work and eventually became the head of Louis Vuitton's special orders department.
He could independently make an exclusive suitcase that can be passed down from generation to generation. And no one else in the world will have this. He was ready to fulfill any, even the most complex order, to take into account all the wishes of the client, to find exactly the material that would satisfy the most demanding requirements.
In addition, working on special orders gave the fashion designer the opportunity to meet and meet interesting people: musicians and actors, writers and athletes, scientists and artists.
Patrick-Louis Vuitton was engaged in the manufacture of not only suitcases, but also a wide variety of cases, handbags, covers for sports equipment, organizers for cosmetics and even underwear. He himself preferred to travel with a travel bag, which he independently designed and manufactured.
Among the clients of Patrick-Louis Vuitton are many celebrities, he carried out orders for Sharon Stone and Angelina Jolie. But one of the designer's most vivid memories was his collaboration with theatrical set designer Robert Wilson, for whom the designer did several exclusive things at once, including a briefcase for graphic works and a special suitcase for chairs.
In general, the fashion designer really liked working with unusual orders, such as a suitcase for a thousand cigars, a nipple case or a petanque ball.
Passion
Louis-Patrick Vuitton was passionate about more than work. He traveled a lot, kept a pack of 120 dogs, and was also engaged in collecting original knives and pipes for smoking, which he brought from different countries. In addition, the “special-order man” was very fond of photographing and drew very well.
He liked to wander around new cities on foot, take pictures of the places he liked, and then sit in a cafe and watch people. From each of his trips, the designer brought a variety of culinary ingredients and recipe books, and then enthusiastically cooked and summoned relatives and friends for tasting. He considered himself a traveler, but most of all he loved his house in Brittany, during the reconstruction of which he independently thought over the design of the premises, selected colors and furniture.
He was an amazing person and loved to repeat: "Skill can only exist if it is passed on …" It seems that Patrick-Louis Vuitton managed to pass on his own skills to his sons (Pierre-Louis and Benoit-Louis work in the family business), and also true love for life in all its manifestations.
On November 7, 2019, the heir to the legendary brand passed away. The cause of death of the 68-year-old fashion designer has not been disclosed.
Modern women cannot imagine their life without handbags, which contain everything they need during the day and even more. But the history of this ladies' accessory goes back less than three centuries. Under what circumstances did this piece of women's wardrobe appear?
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