Tucked in the Paris suburb of Asnières-sur-Seine is an acre-size center of luxury: the Louis Vuitton home, museum, and special-orders workshop. The company’s namesake founder bought the land back in 1859, in what was then the countryside, to move his family out of the smoggy city and expand production of his then fledgling trunk business, which will celebrate its 170th birthday next year. Louis chose the location for its proximity to the rail line and the river Seine—a favorite subject of Impressionist painters. Today, the site remains a source of inspiration for the company’s current visionaries Nicolas Ghesquière and Pharrell Williams, as well as an active celebration of the brand’s long history of handcraft.
On the verdant plot, Louis built an iron-framed workshop in the spirit of architects Victor Baltard and Gustave Eiffel, plus a simple white-stucco house with gingerbread trim, moving between the two as he steered his company to international success. Following Louis’s death in 1892, his son Georges inherited the company and the house. He later added an airy Art Nouveau addition, with curved arches, ornate Corinthian columns, swirling plasterwork, and stained-glass windows of irises, poppies, and clematis. As the Vuitton children played in the garden amid climbing roses and stoic trees, they could hear artisans in the atelier next door, hammering and sawing poplar planks for the company’s famous canvas-covered malles.
The last Vuitton to reside at Asnières was Joséphine, who died in 1964, having lived past 100. The home’s contents were dispersed among family members, and the rooms were used for storage. In the 1980s, with old family photographs as a guide, the company restored the house to its original splendor, installing a replica of the teal ceramic mantelpiece, and furnishing it with fin-de-siècle pieces purchased at galleries and auctions. Today, the company, owned by the LVMH luxury group, receives Vuitton clients and VIP guests in the lush celadon and jade salons for private receptions and visits. At every turn, there are nods to brand iconography lore, be it the portable monogram bar on the Art Nouveau sideboard or the glass-topped trunk enrobed with well-worn striped canvas that, sitting before a Chesterfield sofa, serves as a cocktail table.
Next door, the atelier still hums, with more than 300 artisans handcrafting special orders such as monogrammed valises, jewelry boxes, and trophy cases for elite sporting events like Formula One, the World Cup, and the Australian Open. And facing rue Louis Vuitton is a 6,000-square-foot gallery, which is open to the public by appointment. Each year, it mounts an exhibition, curated by the brand, that explores an aspect of the company’s expertise and heritage via 3D short films and archival displays. On view through early 2024 is “Malle Courrier,” a journey through the history of Vuitton’s iconic travel trunk, from its invention by Louis in 1858 to the latest iteration, in copper, by Williams, the brand’s new men’s creative director. Most delightful is womenswear head Ghesquière’s re-creation of the home as a small trunk-like bag, replete with the stained glass and rambling roses, for his spring-summer 2023 collection. It’s a fit homage to a luxury legacy.
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