*It would be a few years more before she discovered Prada
Carolus-Duran (French, 1838-1917)
Marie-Anne Carolus-Duran (The Artist’s Daughter), 1874
Oil on canvas
Legion of Honor, San Francisco
July 7th, 2017
Tag: fashion
San Francisco is… keeping its hats on
[In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, hats were a social obsession, subjects of acclaim and critique. The Paris millinery industry was at its financial and creative peak between the mid-1870s and 1914, the period between the Franco-Prussian War and the outbreak of the World War I, decades that coincided with the ear of French Impressionism. The women who made and sold hats – milliners, or modistes in French – as well as those who purchased them, fascinated Edgar Degas and other artists in his circle.]
Bonnets of the 1880s by Mangin Maurice (left) & Cordeau et Laugaudin (right)
Bonnet, ca. 1894 by an unknown designer, France
Jean Béraud, 1849-1935
Fashionable Woman on the Champs-Élysées, n.d.
Oil on canvas
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Woman Adjusting Her Hair, ca. 1884
Oil on canvas
Hat by Maison Virot, ca. 1900 (with alterations)
Hat by Camille Marchais, ca. 1895
Bonnet by Mesdemoiselles Cotel, ca. 1885 (left) & Capote by E. Gauthier, ca. 1890
Hat by Caroline Reboux, ca. 1904-1905 (left) & by Au Bon Marché, retailer, ca. 1884
Capote by Auguste Poussineau, known as A. Félix, ca. 1880-1885 (front) & Hat by Monsieur Heitz-Boyer, 1898 (back)
Hat by an unknown designer, ca. 1890
Édouard Manet (1832-1883)
Berthe Morisot, ca. 1869-1873
Oil on canvas
Louise Catherine Breslau (1856-1927)
The Milliners, 1899
Pastel on paper mounted on board
Paul-César Helleu (1859-1927)
The Final Touch, ca 1885
Pastel on paper
Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade exhibition ran until September 2017 @ the Legion of Honor*
July 07th, 2017
*If, by any chance, September 2018 finds you in San Francisco, please do make me jealous and go see the current exhibition, Truth and Beauty: The Pre-Raphaelites and the Old Masters!
Not the NY Fashion Week
Taking intercultural influences to the next level @ the U.N. – where else…?
May 23rd, 2017
Hubert de Givenchy
LV Loves America
And the feeling is mutual.
Hat trunk in leather, once belonging to Marjorie Merriweather Post
Nicolas Ghesquière embroidered dress worn by Emma Stone at the 2017 British Film Institute Festival
Marc Jacobs feathers headpiece
With this last, highly instagrammable chapter, we end our walk through the history of a House whose name became synonymous with travel. Have you packed your wardrobe/hat/shoe steamer trunks yet? Me too! The question now is… where do we go next?
at the American Stock Exchange Building, through January 7th, 2018.
Admission is free
November 12th, 2017
LV & friends
Yayoi Kusama
Robert Wilson
The Music Room
Since the founding of the House of Louis Vuitton, exacting customers have been able to place unique special orders to fulfill their private purposes and dreams. There is no fantasy or extravagance that cannot be packed. Shower, trunk, altar trunk, bed trunk or cigar trunk – in every situation, Louis Vuitton matched the traveler’s ambition and unique needs with equal expertise. Musical instruments, fragile and delicate, are probably the most vulnerable items to pack. Whether a violin, a guitar or the conductor’s baton, cases were designed by the trunk-maker as protection and enhancement.
Supreme
Skateboard trunk
Cindy Sherman
Studio in a trunk
at the American Stock Exchange Building, through January 7th, 2018.
Admission is free
November 12th, 2017
L’eau de Voyage
Because no voyage is complete unless accompanied by fond memories.
And nothing evokes fond memories faster than an exquisite fragrance in an elegant glass bottle.
As delicate as our very existence. As enduring as the spirit of a true traveller.
***
Louis Vuitton perfume bottles designed by Camille Cless-Brothier in early 1920s.
L’Arbre pleureur, enameled crystal perfume bottle; design by Camille Cless-Brothier, 1922.
at the American Stock Exchange Building, through January 7th, 2018.
Admission is free
November 12th, 2017
LVoyage – Voyage
In the nineteenth century, the evolution of transportation reduced distances. Steam vessels were put into service in the 1830s, linking Europe to the Americas. Railways in 1848, the invention of the automobile in the 1890s, and the advent of commercial airlines in the 1900s ushered the world towards new habits and life experiences.
Travelling by train meant that one could relax in their sleeping car, socialize over a cocktail in the restaurant, daydream, work, test the latest fashion trends on their fellow passengers. And, more importantly, one did not have to travel light. Desk trunks, library trunks, whole wardrobe trunks, designed to make travelers feel at home away from home, were considered an integral part of an experienced, sophisticated traveler’s baggage. 
Portable chest (hasami-bako) in black lacquered wood with gold lacquer patterned using the hiramaki-e technique, Edo period, late 18th and 19th century
Ideale Library trunk in monogram canvas, 1927
Desk trunk in natural cowhide, once belonging to Frank J. Gould, 1928
Jenner & Knewstub Berry’s fitted travel bag in leather, ca. 1864
Client records. For each client the house creates a record detailing special orders and customization requests, 19th to 20th century
Milo Anderson, silk satin nightdress worn by Lauren Bacall in ”Young man with a horn”, 1950
Brettes hat/shoe trunk, vanity case in monogram canvas
Alzer suitcase and Stratos case, all once belonging to Lauren Bacall
Satellite suitcases, vanity case, Deauville bag in monogram canvas once belonging to Elizabeth Taylor
Jeanne Lanvin hostess dress, worn by Mary Pickford, Winter 1948-49
at the American Stock Exchange Building, through January 7th, 2018.
Admission is free
November 12th, 2017
LVolez – The art of traveling light
In the early twentieth century, Louis Vuitton closely followed innovators who, from the airship to the airplane, blazed new trails in the air. To equip aviators and then passengers, the Aéro trunk could hold ”2 pieces of clothing, 1 overcoat, 10 shirts, 3 nightgowns, 3 pairs of underwear, 3 waistcoats, 6 pairs of socks, 12 handkerchiefs, 1 pair of shoes, 18 detachable collars, gloves, ties and hats” all weighing less than 57 pounds. Its dimensions were identical to the Aviette, a more feminine version.
The dimensions of the Aéro trunk were:
H12.99in x W32.28in x D18.11in
H33 cm x W82 cm x D46 cm
All things considering, an early twentieth century Aéro trunk would still be every airline’s darling, even in today’s ever restrictive rules and shrinking space.
Louis Vuitton by Marc Jacobs long dress and cropped jacket with long skirt, S/S 2013
Marceau travel bag in cotton canvas, attributed to Dora Maar, c. 1950
Champs-Élysées travel bag in cotton canvas, once belonging to Madame Henry-Louis Vuitton, ca. 1950
Louis Vuitton by Sofia Coppola, SC Bag in monogram canvas, 2009
Boris Lipnitzki
Outfits by Paul Caret, next to a Nieuport airplane equipped with a Delage motor, Le Bourget (Seine-Saint-Denis), 1929
Model of the Blériot XI airplane, 20th century
Heures d’absence perfume, 1927
at the American Stock Exchange Building, through January 7th, 2018.
Admission is free
November 12th, 2017
LVoyagez – A Roadtrip
Organized between 1924 and 1925 by André Citroën, the Croisière Noire was primarily an ambitions anthropological and technological mission. Traveling through Algeria, Mali and the Congo aboard vehicles (such as the Gold Scarab and Silver Crescent half-track) developed especially for this excursion, the crossing was marked by physical and technical achievements, as well as scientific, ethnographic and geographic accomplishments. The House of Louis Vuitton accompanied the expedition at the request of Mr. Citroën. Special orders [for photos, see first post of this series] were made so as to offer trunks that were suited to climate, modes of transport and the practicalities of daily life for the explorers (tea sets, toiletry kits, etc.). The second expedition organized by André Citroën, the Croisière Jaune, took place a few weeks before the official opening of the Colonial Exposition of 1931, with the objective of crossing the legendary Silk Road through Asia.
Chauffeur’s kit in vuittonite canvas, 1910
Dornac, 100 à l’heure travelling coat in Scottish wool twill, ca. 1923
Ladies’ flat hand bags in Morocco leather, ca. 1910
Driving googles, ca. 1900
Louis Vuitton by Marc Jacobs coated cotton coat, F/W 1998-99
Special car trunk for motobloc vehicles in vuittonite canvas, ca. 1908
at the American Stock Exchange Building, through January 7th, 2018.
Admission is free
November 12th, 2017
