Behind Neuilly lies Asnières-sur-Seine, one of the residential areas favored by the wealthy Parisian bourgeoisie. On a quiet street in this elegant Hauts-de-Seine community, 40 minutes from the center of the capital, stands a house with cream walls, a maroon roof and green shutters. Louis Vuitton, founder of the luxury empire that bears his name, lived here from 1859 until his death in 1892. Vuitton built the house just five years after founding his luggage brand. At the end of the 19th century, his only son Georges had an Art Nouveau wing added. The property resembles one of those chests that brought fame and fortune to the Vuitton family: a box full of surprises, a cabinet of curiosities full of jewels, sumptuous furniture and oriental vases.
But the biggest surprise at Asnières takes place not inside the house, but outside, or rather behind it, where, in the middle of the industrial revolution, stands the original workshop that Monsieur Vuitton designed to produce his suitcases and suitcases. The businessman chose this part of Paris for practical and commercial reasons. Asnières is close to the river over which the wood was transported and close to a railway line with a direct connection to the central Saint-Lazare train station. The workshop, an open and bright Eiffel-style glass and steel building, still functions as it did 150 years ago. More than 250 craftsmen work in the 6,500 square meter factory with the same tools as they did a century and a half ago: their hands.
Asnières, the Vuitton home and workshop on the outskirts of Paris. Lea Crespi
Our guide in Asnières, whose identity cannot be revealed due to the company’s strict confidentiality policy, explains to El País Semanal that they continue to do what was common a century and a half ago: suitcases, only suitcases. Louis Vuitton has been part of LVMH, the leading group by market capitalization in Europe, since the late 1980s. Last year, the holding company recorded the highest profit in its history at 14,084 million euros. In the first half of 2023 alone, net profit increased by 30% and sales increased by another 15%. The fashion and leather goods sector and Vuitton in particular led the increase in sales. The trunk layout of the house is a key element of this equipment, not so much in economic terms but in terms of image. Asnières is the house’s sanctuary, a showcase where they can show off what their artisans are capable of: exotic leather goods and highly complex custom-made pieces for the most demanding customers.
But who buys suitcases in the 21st century? The chef Ferran Adrià, for example, turned to them so that his kitchen utensils could travel safely. From Asnières they assure that there is great demand for their trunks and the business does not stop growing. They realize that they cannot follow orders. The workshop employees work in two shifts and produce around 4,000 parts every year. Nevertheless, the waiting list is between 12 and 18 months. Customers now see suitcases more as decorative objects than as travel cases. According to them, they use them as tables for the living room or as bedside tables, as a safe, jewelry box or dressing room.
A craftsman puts the rivets on the tarpaulin of a suitcase.Léa Crespi
Here, suitcases were and are manufactured to transport all sorts of things: watches, jewelry, tennis rackets, umbrellas, bicycles, typewriters, books, golf clubs, champagne bottles, cocktail glasses and fine tableware… They also make dresser suitcases, bed trunks and desk trunks. Everything that is produced is already sold and has an owner. They only work on request. Each job requires between four months and a year of work and usually the craftsman who starts the work is also the one who completes it.
Asnières is a treasure chest, but also a safe deposit box. The area is guarded by security personnel and video surveillance. Suitcases are treated like jewelry and cost like it. This explains the secrecy and confidentiality policies surrounding the workshop. The Cabin model, for example, which was developed at the beginning of the 20th century for installation under the beds in the cabins of ocean liners, costs around 36,000 euros. A sneaker suitcase can be worth 180,000 euros and a cabinet of curiosities designed by Marc Newson can be worth around 250,000 euros.
The Vuitton suitcase reimagined by Pharrell Williams, the new creative director of the brand’s men’s collection. Julien de Rosa (Afp/Getty Imag
The super-rich see these pieces as the non-plus-ultra, the nothing more, and see the initials LV as a guarantee of luxury and exclusivity, although few know that these initials belonged to a simple boy from the provinces. Louis Vuitton was born in the village of Anchay in the Jura Mountains into a family dedicated to agriculture and carpentry. At the age of 15 he left home and went to Paris to work as a packer. At the age of 17 he founded his packaging company. Then, in the midst of the boom of railroads and steamboats, suitcases had curved lids to keep the rain off. He began making them flat-topped, easier to stack, with a waterproof canvas and a lining to keep the wood from swelling from moisture.
Louis Vuitton was not born as a luxury company, but as a functionality company. It was Georges Vuitton, son of Louis and second generation at the helm of the company, who led the brand into the world of high-end. When he took over, his customers often personalized their luggage with their own names. He decided it would be better if they did his father’s. This is how the canvas was created with the Vuitton monogram, one of the first logos in the history of the fashion industry. The drawing, a flower inspired by the rose windows of Gothic churches, became the brand’s trademark.
Georges Vuitton invented the anti-theft lock. Not even Houdini dared try to escape one of the brand’s swim trunks. Leah Crespi
The monogram changed the history of the house. Suddenly, Vuitton suitcases became something unique, desirable and luxurious. Georges was also the architect of the burglar-proof tumbler lock. The landlord invited Harry Houdini to try to escape from one of his suitcases. The illusionist did not accept the challenge. The house still has the same lock today. Each of them is unique and associated with a customer.
The list of Vuitton suitcase buyers goes back to the time of Empress Eugenia de Montijo and actress Sarah Bernhardt. The brand keeps this list in a locker. The most special customers can visit Asnières to see how their fetish cases are made. The workshop has its own museum displaying jewels, including a chest from Paul Poiret from 1911 and another from the Greek royal family from 1927. The oldest piece is a 14th-century chest from the collection from the Vuitton family, decorated with a gothic flower reminiscent of the brand logo. The most recent is the Sac Maison de Famille, a bag designed by Nicolas Ghesquière for Spring/Summer 2023 and modeled after the house of Vuitton.
But this is not an amusement park, not Disneyland Paris. It’s a workshop. The sounds from the factory confirm it. In the carpentry sector, craftsmen work with three types of wood: poplar, light and elastic; Beech, homogeneous and easy to work with, and okoumé, light and soft. There are up to 5,000 different types of leather in the leather goods sector, including exotic skins such as python or crocodile. Hamid, a professional locksmith, has been forging locks for 16 years. Alex, a carpenter, has been lining suitcases for four decades. Everything made here goes through a quality control section. Every mistake, no matter how small, leads to the complete destruction of the product.
A finished piece in the quality control area of the Asnières factory. Leah Crespi
Georges Vuitton, the man who made his surname synonymous with luxury, died in Asnières in 1936. His son Gaston also lived and died here. Patrick Vuitton, fourth generation of the saga and great-great-grandson of the founder, died just three years ago. Two of his children work in the company. This is the only Parisian fashion house still operating in the original family home and with the fifth generation on board. The Vuittons have not lived in Asnières since the 1980s, but the spirit of Louis still lives in the suitcases bearing his initials.
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