Louis Vuitton Biography

Along with the likes of Coco Chanel, Miuccia Prada, and Donatella Versace, Louis Vuitton is one of the most immediately recognizable names in high end fashion. His luxury brand is headquartered in Paris, France, although boutiques can be found across the globe.

Louis Vuitton was born August 4, 1821 in Anchury, Jura, France. He made the move to Paris (on foot) in 1835 and was subsequently an apprentice under Monsieur Marechal.

By 1854, Vuitton was ready to found his company. Not always associated with celebrity bags and doggie carriers, Vuitton began the company as a luggage manufacturer.

In 1885, Vuitton’s good fortune continued, and his flagship London store was opened. Vuitton died, however, on February 27, 1892. Luckily, Vuitton’s son, George Vuitton, was able to carry on the family business.

As the popularity of Vuitton’s company expanded, the business gradually became the gold standard for all luxury leather goods. Fashion accessories, a ready to wear line, and jewelry were all eventually added as well as the traditional bags and luggage.

The company continued to be passed along through the family, and soon became famous for its trademark brown Damier with monogrammed canvas. Celebrities helped propel the company into notoriety such as when Audrey Hepburn carried a signature Vuitton in 1963’s Cary Grant thriller Charade.

By 1987, Vuitton’s company merged with Moët et Chandon as well as Hennessy to form the conglomerate LVMH. The Christian Dior group is part owner, and it is chaired by Bernard Arnault.

Reaching heights of which Vuitton never could have dream for his small company, 1997 saw Marc Jacobs as the new artistic director for the company. He worked closely with Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami, and the company reached unparalleled levels of success under his direction.

In order to maintain its status as one of the most elite handbag purveyors, Vuitton utilizes strategic marketing which has featured everyone from Lauren Vaughan to Ashlee Gilbertson to Mikhail Gorbachev. Most recently, Steffi Graf, Catherine Deneuve, and Andre Agassi all signed on for ad work.

Counterfeiting is extremely common, and it is estimated that only 1% of the items currently bearing the trademark logo are authentic products. And the Louis Vuitton company takes this issue very seriously.

In mid November of 2007, the Louis Vuitton company was able to sue Britney Spears for her music video “Do Somethin’,” which featured a trademark Vuitton bag without authorization. While Spears herself was not liable, Sony BMG and MTV Online were fined and forced to stop airing the video.

Jessica Simpson’s love of Vuitton, which was highlighted on her reality series Newlyweds with Nick Lachey, also helped to foster the popularity of the pricey handbags.