The Unrivaled Commitment of Louis Vuitton
Some brands' identities are manufactured, their ethos fabricated and value speculative. Louis Vuitton is something else entirely. The maison’s provenance is unrivaled. After serving as personal trunk maker to Napoleon III's wife, Vuitton opened up his own trunk-making atelier in the heart of Paris when he was in his early thirties. Outside his shop hung a sign that read, “Securely packs the most fragile objects.” This was the early 1850s.
Nearly 170 years later, Louis Vuitton is still securely packing the most fragile, precious objects in their (still) meticulously handcrafted trunks.
While no longer the business’s mainstay, the trunks still represent the brand’s commitment to craft. From the very popular, “off-the-rack” Malle Fleurs, a petite trunk that can be filled with water or even dirt to hold flowers, to Keith Richard’s made-to-measure guitar case, there is no limit to what Louis Vuitton’s special orders team can create (although there is a cap on the number of items they can produce: just a few hundred annually).
This team also makes one-of-a-kind Trophy Trunks, which house prestigious awards from the world’s most competitive events. These are prizes that represent hard-won victories earned at great personal sacrifice by some of history's most committed individuals. From the Auld Mug (awarded to the winner of the Americas Cup), to FIFA’s World Cup Trophy, a whopping 6.175 kilograms of 18-carat gold and malachite, Louis Vuitton shares in the most significant moments of the world’s premier sporting institutions.
I was invited to see one of these creations. Coming off a two-week, four-season binge of Netflix’s “Drive to Survive,” I traveled to Monaco to watch the Grand Prix and see the trunk that had been designed for its trophy. As a product of 80s excess, I work hard to maintain a healthy skepticism of all brands, never mind luxury fashion houses. This isn't rooted in some higher order pursuit of the spiritual whatever; it’s really just about keeping me grounded enough to not be an insufferable fool.
That said, I really, really, wanted to go. Walking into the lobby of the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort, I felt as if I were a part of something historic, even iconic. Built in 2006, integrated into the shoreline below Monaco’s steep corniche, they weren’t the first ones to the party but they could've been the last. Stepping onto the balcony of my room, staring out over the Mediterranean, I felt an inextricable link between property and place.
After a short nap, I met fellow guests for dinner at Le Table de Patrick Raingeard in the Cap Estel Hotel. After dinner, but before dessert, a notably demure and incredibly well tailored Frenchman raised his glass to address the group. I don’t speak French, but my very gracious host was kind enough to translate. The Frenchman was Alain Prost, four-time F1 Drivers’ Champion (and avid cyclist, placing 12th in L’Etape du Tour — an annual, mass participation bike race that takes place on a stage of the Tour de France). With a steady voice, he outlined the value of commitment, and the importance of maintaining humility in the pursuit of excellence.
While overwhelmingly impressed by the scene I found myself in, the connection between it and the Louis Vuitton trunks I was here to investigate felt unclear.
Around noon the next day, with bellies full of tuna from a wildly opulent, Michelin-starred lunch, we headed to the track.
The bespoke Louis Vuitton travel trophy case was on display at our loge, essentially an open air suite which placed us approximately 30 feet above the penultimate turn of the track, La Rascasse Corner. From the LV-embossed wood-based lozine, to the impossibly straight, but clearly hand-driven brass nails,the effort and care put into the design and construction of this trunk felt from another time. It was impossible not to be impressed.
According to Louis Vuitton, “Seven distinct steps performed by three specialized artisans were required to create this one-of-a-kind trunk, from its initial conception to the structure’s woodwork, canvas coating, lozinage binding, metallic fittings and final assembly, resulting in over 400 man-hours of work in Louis Vuitton’s historical workshop in Asnières.”
The term artisan is often bandied about these days in a way that could generously be called less than authentic. By contrast, at the Louis Vuitton Atelier in Asnières-sur-Seine, a suburb just 30 minutes outside of Paris, the individuals charged with cutting leather for the label’s special orders, from signature handbags to custom-made trunks, have received up to seven (yes, seven!) years of training.
I spent an afternoon in the workshop, which buzzed with electric energy. It was creative, collaborative, but still organized and focused – and bright, joyfully bright. Walls of windows let in the sun, allowing the artists to see the greenery outside. Their ages varied as did their skill sets. There were machinists working on the proprietary locking mechanisms, along with retrained engineers, teachers, and architects, taking painstakingly precise measurements for the trunk’s frame, cutting and laying the lozinage binding, and lining the carcasse, orinterior frame, with various materials. It takes a team of artisans a total of 400 hours to make a single, custom-ordered trunk like the one I saw in Monaco.
Standing up, looking out onto the track of the Grand Prix, and experiencing the madness of these unrestricted 1.6 L, V6 Formula 1 cars, was unlike anything, ever. These machines, capable of speeds upward of 400 kph (249 mph), that produce 1050 horsepower, are flawlessly engineered. They represent the seemingly limitless potential of innovation — along with that insatiable human need to go faster. Formula 1 is widely considered to be the highest class of racing, period. These cars represent the pinnacle of all motorsports — which is exactly why Louis Vuitton is there.
The same unbridled commitment to perfection on display with these F1 cars is built into the improbable craftsmanship and meticulous care of every case Louis Vuitton makes. More than a brand, they’re an aspirational aphorism. And what they're doing matters, because, as Alain Prost aptly stated over drinks, the pursuit of excellence matters.