The journey through Louis Vuitton Series 3
Published by Becca Jordan Design
Posted on October 06, 2015
Last night we had the pleasure of heading down to 180 The Strand to dazzle our eyes and overwork our ears with some of the best craftsmanship and tales surrounding one of the most iconic brands ever created – Louis Vuitton.
From this point on, we will not let anyone in our sight put down an LV without scanning the area, wiping the floor and laying down a red carpet for their bag. What inspired us so much about this fabulous company, is that despite huge success over hundreds of years, they still to this day hand make each bag in France. Technologies have however developed and now instead of the time consuming hand cutting of a hide, the bags are cut out by use of laser. Despite this advance, purely to remain current, seven skilled artisans still hard graft over 30 hours, using 200 pieces to create these exquisite bags for the likes of us to carry with pride.
Of course, we were at times more excited by the journey through the event space than the product itself, and this was so important to capture the hearts of everyone browsing and make them really believe the history of the product. From the wind gusting room to get you in the mood for AW16, to the marching model army within the catwalk room, to the skilled makers talking you through their secrets, to the glass walk in wardrobe that we all wanted to walk home with – all we could think was how perfectly this method of exhibiting translates so well into weddings and the exquisite journey you wish your guests to experience throughout the day.
You want your wedding to be personal, spectacularly romantic and most of all unforgettable. First impressions are so important and as the beginning of the story, needs to both excite and absorb guests into the atmosphere of the day. The French have always been romantics. Perhaps as a couple you have been together since high school and the first thing you want people to feel is the love you both have for each other and the depth of that love over the time it has grown. Allow people to walk through the years, past photographs in frames of you at the beginning of your story, to you now. These could be hung on the walls on both sides of a long tunnel towards the dining space in a marquee, or stood on easels lining the pathway to the entrance of a building. Make it even more romantic by covering the floor in rose petals and candles. Graduate the colour of the petals to show how your love has strengthened over time.
Too sickening and embarrassing for some, create the romantic entrance to the space through the use of flowers. A line of meadow-like stocks and daisies in blush and white running along each side of a tunnel entrance to a marquee will allow guests to drift into a dreamy place. Shepherd hooks and lanterns filled with wild flowers will do the same trick lining the pathway outside. Continue this journey throughout the day creating different rooms with different themes, yet be sure they connect and flow together telling the story you wish them to. We share with you Louis Vuitton’s journey and hopefully it will inspire you as much as it did us for our upcoming weddings.
The Louis Vuitton Logo was created by George, Louis’s son. Unfortunately Louis died before the logo ever made the first bag, and the same as the brand, the logo has developed over the years. This reiterated that we were here to see the journey through Louis Vuitton over the years.
The wind tunnel room was created to get you into the Autumn Winter mood, and really feel the collection as you would when using it in the time it was created for. We were now ready to see the product, how it was designed, made and carried.
The light at the end of the tunnel showcases the iconic Louis Vuitton trunk and explains the history of the product, where it started and where it would go to next. (Photograph taken from Vogue).
In real time, we see just how complex it is to make the goods and by sitting down at the machine sized bench, complete with pedal, this room allows us to experience just how much work goes in to the making of each bag.
Not only did we get to feel as if we were making the bag, we got to watch one of those skilled enough to actually make it. The biggest shame is the bag you see in this photo will never be sold – it hasn’t been made in France.
Strut your stuff down the catwalk. Louis Vuitton wants you to feel the bag and walk with it how you think it should be walked with. We took one with us to practice and as silly as we looked, once you have seen the skill that goes into making it, you rock that bag with real pride.
We now look at the bag within the wardrobe and we see far more than just a bag. The graphic designer that enhanced the logo, the creative director that came up with the idea, the CEO who funded the project and the 30 hours used by the seven artisans who actually put the bag together.
We were overwhelmed with the confidence so evident throughout the exhibition that ‘everything will be alright’ and that ‘anything is possible’, with talent and hard work anything can be done. These characteristics shine through Vuitton’s work and are a lesson well learnt from a brand that is still expanding over 150 years later. We hope to one day be just as successful within our field and only hope that the motivation and knowledgeable words assist us into getting somewhere close to the level of Louis Vuitton.
Living in London, with so much on our front doorstep, we sometimes forget just how lucky we really are. Series 1 was held only in Shanghai and Tokyo, Series 2 held only in Rome and Los Angeles, and London – our city – plays home to Series 3. So if you have time, and that means make time, the exhibition with run until October 18th.
After a little inspiration?
This is the only place to be.
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