What do Audrey Hepburn, Catherine Deneuve, Jane Fonda, Angelina Jolie, and Alicia Vikander have in common—besides, of course, collecting Oscars? They’re also fans of Louis Vuitton’s Monogram, the iconic design of interlaced L and V initials set within a field of abstract four-petal flowers, now celebrating its 130th anniversary. First introduced by Louis Vuitton’s son Georges Vuitton in 1896 as a protective canvas for steamer trunks, the brown-and-beige pattern has proven endlessly adaptable. It has appeared on everything from handbags and sneakers to DJ boxes and boxing gloves and is continually reinvented through artist collaborations, from Takashi Murakami’s rainbow reboot to Yayoi Kusama’s whimsical dots and spotted pumpkins. As Rei Kawakubo, who once designed a Monogram tote with Swiss cheese holes, has observed, “Louis Vuitton is the house that most beautifully and skillfully transforms what is tradition into what is now.”
At the dawn of the 20th century, the Monogram was introduced as a clever anti-counterfeiting innovation, following the maison’s earlier signature stripe and Damier check patterns. Its intricate design, inspired by Gothic quatrefoils and Art Nouveau flourishes, transformed humble canvas into a symbol of modern elegance. Originally a linen jacquard, the Monogram canvas transitioned in 1902 to Vuittonite, a resin-coated cotton, to better safeguard clothing and prized belongings en route. By the 1920s, tastemakers considered Vuittonite luggage indispensable: Greta Garbo commissioned a custom trunk for her famed shoe collection, while Ernest Hemingway left one filled with books behind at the Ritz Paris, inspiring A Moveable Feast. Monogram trunks had become a calling card of luxury travel, setting the stage for journeys to come.
The Side Trunk, Noé Trunk, and Speedy 20 Trunk Monogram Origine from the house’s anniversary collection.
As air travel reshaped modern mobility, Louis Vuitton adapted its luggage accordingly. The Speedy top-handle, Keepall weekender, and Noé bucket bag were conceived in the 1930s and initially made in leather, as Vuittonite was too rigid for soft-sided designs. Reimagined in 1959 in a newly flexible vinyl-coated Monogram canvas, these bags have defined celebrity arrivals and departures ever since. Two later additions, the Alma shoulder bag and Neverfull tote, extended Monogram into everyday carry. When Marc Jacobs arrived as the maison’s first creative director in 1997, he ushered the pattern into a more provocative cultural life through artist collaborations, beginning with Stephen Sprouse’s spring 2001 graffiti bags, inspired by a Monogram case Serge Gainsbourg had covered in black paint. Jacobs has attributed the success of these designs to their being “disrespectful and respectful at the same time,” a tension that still resonates as stars including Rihanna, Lisa, and Tyla elevate vintage collaboration pieces to grail status.
To mark the anniversary year, Louis Vuitton has reissued its five most iconic Monogram bag silhouettes in the Monogram Origine collection, now offered with trunk-inspired gold-tone hardware or in soft pastel hues. Crafted from a reengineered linen-and-cotton blend and finished with a luggage tag bearing the founder’s handwritten signature, the bags have a tactile, heritage feel. They are available at a Louis Vuitton Hotel pop-up in New York, open in Soho through April, that reimagines the world of Monogram as an immersive destination. Guests can “check in” to the Speedy Room 1930, test impossibly light totes in the Neverfull Gym, toast at the Noé Champagne Bar, or bring their well-loved Monogram pieces to the Care Room for artisan restoration and personalization services, including hot-stamping and exclusive patches. Today, Monogram transforms even a trip downtown into an exciting adventure.
Collage credits, clockwise from top left: Getty Images (2); © Archives, courtesy of Louis Vuitton; © Mirrorpix; Courtesy of Louis Vuitton (2).
