- It is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. It catered to—among the general throng of well-heeled everywomen—empresses, explorers, and magazine editors. What was once a tiny little Parisian luggage shop is now the multifaceted jewel in the crown that sits atop the head of Bernard Arnault, CEO of the fashion conglomerate LVMH, who, in 2003, likened the revenue-generating house to a “luxury Microsoft.”
- For well more than a century, Louis Vuitton was best known for canvas-covered travel cases with flat, stackable shapes that made them ideal for modern travel via planes, trains, and automobiles. The company’s operating system was substantially updated in 1997, however, when Marc Jacobs, the downtown New York designer best known at the time for elevating the grunge look, was hired as creative director. For the next sixteen years, Jacobs was charged with creating not just apparel for Vuitton, but accessories, too (from handbags to, later on, watches and jewelry).
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