TRAVEL MARVEL
At the advent of travel in the 1900s, orders for bags to accompany different excursions started pouring in. In the next room, Yachting and The Expeditions, is where I soaked in all the Steamer bags (precursors of handbags today) and special trunks. My favourite has to be the special photographer’s trunk in Vuittonite canvas, made in 1929 for world traveller Albert Kahn. This trunk bag was reintroduced in recent years in a tinier avatar as the uber-chic Petite Malle. The Louis Vuitton trunks and bags accompanied every step of travel history, be it automobile, aviation or train. Did you know that it was when he was making lighter bags for automobile travel that he created the brand’s very first handbag? What an amazing feeling it was, to view the flat bag in morocco leather made all the way back in 1900. The exhibition is a true celebration of the brand’s ingenuity, with plenty to soak up in the rooms dedicated to writing, trunks ordered by prominent people in the art industry, GastonLouis Vuitton’s trunk collection, famous customers, music and more. The Inspirational Japan room was created uniquely for the Tokyo exhibition, and it surmises the long, steadfast and exuberant relationship between Louis Vuitton and the land of the rising sun, all the way back from 1883, when statesman Taisuke Itagaki commissioned a steamer trunk in striped canvas. Also on display were magazine clippings from the ’70s as well as cool collaborations with Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusama and Rei Kawakubo. All the exhibits—objects and documents— are from the archives of the brand as well as on loan from the Palais Galliera, Musee de la Mode de la Ville de Paris and from private
The Louis Vuitton trunks and bags accompanied every step of travel history, be it automobile, aviation or train