Louis Vuitton celebrates 200th anniversary of founder’s birth
Luxury leathergoods brand Louis Vuitton marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of its founder on August 4.
Louis Vuitton was born on this day in 1821 in the small town of Anchay in eastern France. At the age of 14, he decided to walk to Paris to make his fortune and was taken on as an apprentice by a luggage manufacturer called Maréchal, from whom he learned the trade and for whom he worked for 17 years.
He left Maréchal in 1854 to set up his own company and a new workshop and family home at Asnières-sur-Seine, to the north of Paris.
To mark the date, the company launched a series of initiatives. These included inviting 200 designers from around the world to reimagine the iconic Vuitton trunk. The company also launched a game in which players have to find 200 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the form of birthday candles to uncover the founder’s story.
It said on announcing these ideas: “His innovative ideas revolutionised leathergoods and elevated travel into an artform.”
Image shows Louis Vuitton’s workshop and family home at Asnières-sur-Seine.
Credit: LVMH.
