Louis Vuitton

Background

Louis Vuitton is a well-known luxury brand that provides high-quality fashion products. The company was named after a French entrepreneur, Louis Vuitton. Vuitton was born in a poor household in France. His ancestors were farmers, carpenters, and milliners. When he was ten, his mother died and his father remarried soon after. Louis’ stepmother was wicked and harsh and he was forced to flee from home.

Vuitton decided to relocate to Paris in 1835. Along the way, he did several unusual jobs to feed himself and rested in abandoned shelters. It took him two years to get to Paris. He arrived in Paris in the midst of the Industrial Revolution and began working as an apprentice for Monsieur Marechal, a successful trunk maker, and packer. At the time, trunk making was a highly respectable craft. Within a few years, Vuitton had built a reputation as one of the city’s premier practitioners of the craft.

In 1852, after the re-establishment of the French Empire, Vuitton was hired as a personal trunk maker for the Empress of The French. This opportunity acted as a gateway to landing more elite clients who provided him with work for the rest of his career. Two years later, Vuitton married Clemence-Emilie Parriaux and opened his box manufacturing business. In 1958, he introduced a uniquely shaped trunk design which quickly became a hit. The Parisians loved Vuitton’s designs and his brand sustained a position as one of the most luxurious trunk manufacturers. Vuitton kept working on his brand until his death in 1892, leaving his company in the hands of his son, Georges Vuitton.