In just three short months at ESSEC, our class has already acquired so much knowledge about the luxury industry and one of the sources of the greatest learning has come from visits with leading luxury houses. One of my most anticipated visits was to La Maison de Louis Vuitton, located in the charming town of Asnières-sur-Seine. Louis Vuitton himself built this house in the 19th century so he and his family could be located closer to his workshop. This workshop was the first built by Louis Vuitton in 1859, and today is still making all of the “rare and exceptional” products from the Leather Goods collections and special orders.
La Galerie was curated by Judith Clark, who sifted through the House’s archive of 26,000 objects and 165,000 documents to select 400 items that gives great insight into the rich history of Louis Vuitton. I loved how the objects were displayed and organized on modular wooden planks with wheels, a layout inspired by Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s “Le Pateki” puzzle game. The ground floor of the exhibition houses a selection of trunks and toiletry kits, showing how Louis Vuitton has played with new shapes of travel over the years. The first floor of the exhibition is more dedicated to fashion, displaying designs from the brand’s past and present Creative Directors, as well as examples of the brand’s numerous collaborations with artists.
It was an amazing opportunity to be given the privilege to enter La Maison de Louis Vuitton and to receive a private tour of La Galeire. Our class was impressed by the beautiful displays of Louis Vuitton’s heritage and savoir-faire and extremely thankful for the warm welcome we received.