louis vuitton city bags

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LOUIS VUITTON
CITY BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
Family portrait: From the trunk to the City Bag.
Photograph by Patrick Gries, 2013.
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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LOUIS VUITTON
CITY BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
In October 2013 Rizzoli NY releases a surprising volume:
a natural history of Louis Vuitton City Bags.
This book combines a unique, appealing approach with almost
a scientific play on iconic shapes.
The first comprehensive taxonomy of Louis Vuitton’s City
Bags, a range of women’s handbags that date back to turn
of the 20th century. Featuring the trademarks of the House,
City Bags represent the most successful line of accessories
in the history of modern fashion—and were instrumental
in making Louis Vuitton synonymous with modern luxury.
These soft-sided bags grew out of the various pieces
of portable luggage that were themselves packed inside
the trunks and wardrobes that had long ago represented
the heritage of the company, and in a hundred years
diversified to body forth every conceivable function
demanded by the modern woman. Profoundly influential,
they are now known by name—Speedy, Papillon, Alma,
Lockit, Noé, Bucket, Neverfull, Sac Plat & The Pochette.
Taking a page from attempts to organize entire classes
of industrial design objects in the previous century,
this volume chronicles the development of the City Bags
through a system mimicking the scientific classification
of plants and animals. Tracing the origins and history
of these bag “families” from the four pieces of hand-carried
luggage that served as their direct, generative “ancestors”
—the Steamer, the Vanity, the Alzer & the Keepall—
the book carefully examines the earliest specimens
of City Bag through today’s most sought-after collectibles.
Apart from providing as complete a genealogy
for each of the main handbag “families”, the book examines
how the artistic collaborations engaged by Louis Vuitton
in the last two decades have hastened the evolution
of City Bags, transforming the basic types into increasingly
divergent forms.
A classic Natural History book, this work is presented
in a canvas clamshell with marble paper and a set of eleven
illustrated plates. Available in French, English and Italian
this limited edition is on sale exclusively for Louis Vuitton
stores and on louisvuitton.com.
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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CONTENT
PART I: GENESIS
PART II: FAMILIES
In the Beginning Essay by Florence Müller
Profiles by Colombe Pringle
Common Ancestors: The Vanity, The Alzer,
The Steamer & The Keepall
Chapter I: Speedy/Papillon
Chapter II: Alma/Lockit
Chapter III: Noé/Bucket
Chapter IV: Sac Plat/Neverfull
Chapter V: Pochettes/Minaudières
Chapter VI: Mutations
The Heart of the Self: The Bag and Personal
Identity Essay by Jean-Claude Kaufmann
Florence Müller is a French fashion historian.
She received her degree from the École du Louvre
and the Institute of Art and Archaeology, and was the director
and curator of the Union Française des Arts du Costume
from 1987 to 1993.
She now curates exhibitions in France and abroad.
An associate professor at the Institut Français de la Mode,
she teaches historic and contemporary fashion culture.
She is the author of several reference books on fashion
and style.
Jean-Claude Kaufmann is a French sociologist. A specialist
in the quotidian, he has re-contextualized his principle subject
of analysis within the larger question of identity, bringing
new insight to the subject through his contributions.
As part of his work for the National Center for Scientific
Research (CNRS), which he joined in 1977, he also studies
socialization and subjectivity with the Research Center
for Social Connections at Paris Descartes University.
Notable among his written work is Le Sac. Un petit monde
d’amour (The Bag: A Little World of Love), published
by Les Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès.
Mutagenesis Essay by Ian Luna
CdG x LV By Rei Kawakubo
A Conversation with Yayoi Kusama
With Isao Takakura and Mariko Nishitani
A Conversation with Takashi Murakami
With Mariko Nishitani
Invasive Species: Louis Vuitton in Japan
Essay by Mariko Nishitani
Colombe Pringle is a Franco-British journalist. She began
as a fashion writer at Elle magazine, for which she served
as associate editor from 1982 to 1986. For three years she also
covered the Cannes Film Festival for the publication Le Film
Français. In 1987, she became Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris
before joining L’Express as an international correspondent
in 1996. At the same time, she became chief editor of the
decorating magazine Maison Française, where she continued
until 2003. The following year, she began her current position
as Editor-in-Chief of the weekly magazine Point de Vue.
She is the author of Telles qu’Elle, 50 ans d’histoire
des femmes à travers le journal Elle (Telles qu’Elle: 50 Years
of Women’s History Through Elle Magazine), published
by Éditions Grasset in 1995, and a biography of Roger Vivier
in the Mémoire de la Mode series (Éditions Assouline, 1999).
She recently contributed to a monograph on Roger Vivier, for
Rizzoli (2013).
PART III: CODES
Ian Luna is a writer and critic based in New York and is the
author of several books on architecture, design and fashion.
Most recently, he was general editor and contributing author
to Pharrell Williams: Places & Spaces I’ve Seen (2012).
His previous books include Louis Vuitton: Architecture
& Interiors (2011); Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and
Architecture (2009); A Bathing Ape (2008) with NIGO®;
Tokyolife: Art and Design (2008), with Toshiko Mori;
On the Edge: Ten Architects from China (2007)
with Yung Ho Chang; Retail: Architecture and Shopping
(2005); Imagining Ground Zero: The Official and Unofficial
Proposals for the World Trade Center Site (2004),
with Suzanne Stephens; and New New York: Architecture
of a City (2003). He has lectured on urbanism and architectural
history at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and
the Yale School of Architecture, and is an occasional critic
and correspondent for a number of publications in Japan
and China, Including the print and digital editions of Studio
Voice, High Fashion and Japan Tokion.
Mariko Nishitani is a fashion editor and journalist based
in Tokyo and Kyoto. Nishitani served as an editor from 1974
to 2012 at Bunka Publishing Bureau (BPB), an influential
publisher of fashion periodicals in Japan.
She served as Paris correspondent for BPB early in her career,
and was most recently deputy editor at Soen (1994-1999),
High Fashion (2001-2011), and was editor-in-chief of High
Fashion Online through 2012. She has curated or co-curated
a number of exhibitions on contemporary fashion design,
the most recent of which was Feel and Think: A New Era
of Tokyo Fashion at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2011).
She is also the author and editor of several books on fashion,
including Sotai-sei Comme des Garçons (The Relativism of
Comme des Garçons, 2012), and Fashion wa Katarihajimeta
(Fashion Begins to Talk, 2011), a critical anthology on
influential Japanese brands like A Bathing Ape and Undercover.
She is currently a professor at Kyoto Seika University, and
teaches courses on fashion history and popular culture.
Honest Error Essay by Deyan Sudjic
Sites of Manufacture, Materials & Processes
Idiomatic Expressions and Common Proverbs
Deyan Sudjic is the director of the Design Museum
in London. He was formerly the Dean of the Faculty of Art,
Architecture and Design at the University of Kingston
in London, and the architecture critic for the British
newspaper The Observer from 2001 to 2005, while also serving
as editor in chief of the magazine Domus from 2000 to 2005
and founding editor in chief of the magazine Blueprint.
In 2002, he directed the Venice Biennale.
He is the author of a number of monographs on design,
including a landmark book on Rei Kawakubo
& Comme des Garçons (Rizzoli/Blueprint, 1990).
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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1974
2007
NEVERFULL
SAC WEEK-END
1892
1927
SAC À LINGE
SAC MARIN
1968
SAC DE PLAGE
1903
SAC PLAT GRAND MODÈLE
1968
SAC PLAT
1981
1892
PORTE-DOCUMENTS VOYAGE
PORTE-HABITS À SOUFFLET
1950
PRÉSIDENT CLASSEUR
c. 1875
PORTE-HABITS RIGIDE
c. 1950
ALZER
GENEALOGY: NEVERFULL AND SAC PLAT
Drawings by Martin Mörck, 2013.
1999
VALISE COTTEVILLE
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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SPEEDY
NOÉ
Drawing by Martin Mörck, 2013.
Drawing by Martin Mörck, 2013.
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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INSIDE A KEEPALL
INSIDE AN ALMA
Photograph by Patrick Gries, 2013.
Photograph by Patrick Gries, 2013.
1960S
2010S
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
ALMA
SPEEDY
40
40 × 25 × 19 cm
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35
35 × 23 × 18 cm
30
30 × 21 × 17 cm
25
25 × 19 × 15 cm
MINI HL
15 × 10 × 7 cm
LARGE VOYAGE MODEL
50 × 34 × 22 cm
MEDIUM MODEL
26 × 14 × 14 cm
SMALL MODEL
32.6 × 24 × 15.3 cm
BB
25 × 19.4 × 11.9 cm
LOCKIT
PAPILLON
LARGE MODEL
30 × 15 × 15 cm
MEDIUM MODEL
38.5 × 28.5 × 18.5 cm
SMALL MODEL
19 × 10,5 × 10,5 cm
LARGE MODEL
46 × 36 × 21 cm
MEDIUM MODEL
38 × 31 × 17 cm
SMALL MODEL
34 × 28 × 16.5 cm
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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STEAMER BAG
Photograph by Nick Veasey, 2013.
SPEEDY
BIODIVERSITY
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
Twiggy carries a small Papillon in Monogram canvas.
Photograph by Bert Stern, Vogue UK, 1967
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Twiggy carries a Toilette pochette in Monogram canvas.
Photograph by Bert Stern, Vogue UK, 1967
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
Spring-Summer 2012 advertising campaign.
Photograph by Steven Meisel, 2011.
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LOUIS VUITTON CIT Y BAGS:
A NATURAL HISTORY
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ILLUSTRATION & PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Patrick Gries is a photographer from Luxembourg.
In the 1980s, he contributed to various art and design
magazines in New York before publishing his first documentary
work on post-Communist Romania in 1990.
Since then, he has been collaborating with luxury brands,
artists and institutions dedicated to art and design, notably
the Fondation Cartier and the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.
His photographs capture changing social realities,
and have been presented in international exhibitions and
numerous publications. He recently authored Evolution with
Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu for Editions Xavier Barral (2011).
Martin Mörck is a Norwegian engraver. He divides his time
between Sweden and Copenhagen. After studying fine art,
he learned the art of engraving under the direction of Arne
Wallhorn of the Swedish Post Office. His first engraved
postage stamp was produced in 1977 in Sweden. Since then,
he has worked principally for the postal administrations
of the Nordic countries, but also for other countries such as
France and China. As an illustrator, he collaborates regularly
with the British magazine Monocle and the Danish magazine
Euroman. In partnership with the Chinese postal services,
he founded the Beijing School of Engraving. His engravings
and watercolors have been featured in a number of prestigious
magazines and publications.
Martine Rupert is a French illustrator. She divides her
time between Paris and Berlin, collaborating with publisher
teNeues for the collection “City Journal,” The Exacompta
Clairefontaine Group and the Institut du Monde Arabe,
among others. Her drawings have been exhibited at the Council
of Europe, the headquarters of the Franco-German television
channel Arte and in galleries in Geneva and London.
Nick Veasey is a British photographer. He began his career
producing images for advertising and television before
dedicating his practice to x-ray photography.
He has created various campaigns for international brands,
and his works have been exhibited notably at the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London and the Illinois Institute
of Technology in Chicago, as well as included in the British
Collection of Photography.
His work has received various awards and been the subject
of numerous publications throughout the world.
SPECIFICATIONS
400 pages.
9,4 x 12,2 in. (24 x 31 cm)
500 full color images: specific drawings and shooting orders,
ad campaign, archives documents.
Printed in Italy.
From september 2013, you will discover the video teaser
of the book on louisvuitton.com.
In parallel, Rizzoli NY proposes an entertaining iPhone,
iPad application available for free on the App Store.
LIMITED EDITION
October 2013
Deluxe edition for Louis Vuitton stores: book presented
in a clamshell bound in buckram canvas,
enriched by eleven loose plates.
125€
BOOKSTORES
English (published by Rizzoli NY)
French (published by Éditions de la Martinière)
Italian (published by Rizzoli Italia)
85$
LOUIS VUITTON PUBLISHING
Among its many firsts in the luxury industry, Louis Vuitton
has broken new ground by operating its own publishing
activity. With a rich catalog of more than 60 titles,
Louis Vuitton develops three collections resolutely focused
on travel — City Guides, Travel Books, and the Voyager
Avec collection of little-known travel accounts by famous
literary figures — complemented by a series of fine volumes
about the House, produced in collaboration with prestigious
publishing partners. In association with renowned design
and production studios, Louis Vuitton also offers contemporary
art books in limited editions signed and numbered by the artists.
Lastly, Louis Vuitton has drawn on its trunk-maker’s
know-how to celebrate the Art of travel by releasing its first
iPad application Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks,
conceived and produced in collaboration
with Les Éditions de La Martinière.
Books have always held pride of place in the history
of the House of Vuitton. Gaston-Louis Vuitton (1883–1970),
grandson of the founder, was himself an avid collector
and keen bibliophile, whose tastes ranged from literature
to art books. He founded three bibliophile societies and
maintained a prolific correspondence with the publishers,
illustrators and writers of his day. Apart from his love
for books, Gaston-Louis Vuitton had an abiding passion
for the art of writing itself. His interest in printed matter
prompted him to forge strong ties with many traveling writers.
These prized relationships gave rise to numerous unique
items crafted by the House of Vuitton and documented
in its archives, such as the library trunk designed for Ernest
Hemingway, used to carry the notebooks in which the author
had scribbled his every thought during his early years on
the Left Bank, and the office trunk created for the explorer
Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, whose secret compartment
concealed confidential reports.
When the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Elysées opened
its doors in 1914, it already featured a comfortable reading
and letter-writing room for its customers.
This tradition continues into the present day at the brand’s
Maisons in Paris, Taipei, Hong Kong, London, Singapore,
Rome and Venice, where Louis Vuitton bookstores offer
a choice selection of books on art, fashion, design and travel.
ABOUT LOUIS VUITTON
Founded in Paris in 1854, Louis Vuitton is synonymous
with the Art of travel. Its iconic trunks, luggage and bags
have accompanied journeys throughout time.
With the arrival of Artistic Director, Marc Jacobs in 1997,
Louis Vuitton extended its expertise to ready-towear, shoes,
accessories, watches and jewellery.
These creations are available in an exclusive network
of stores worldwide.
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VISUALS
free of rights available on:
http://louisvuitton-press.com
Login: LV_citybags
Password: LV2013
PRESS CONTACT:
Caroline Bellemare
[email protected]
Tél.: +33 1 55 80 36 55