Paris may be the ‘city of lights’, yet, Los Angeles could be labeled the city of ‘light’. The natural light in this city is very particular and resonates beautifully on camera. It is thus no accident that the film industry sprung up here and sunglasses are the essential accessory, for celebrities and non-celebrities alike, to reflect the glare of the considerably bright sun rays.

In this short film directed by KT Auleta, Louis Vuitton presents the Spring/Summer Sunglasses collection for men. The collection draws its inspiration from the Damier canvas which was created in 1888. It remains timeless thanks to a geometric pattern and simple elegance and whether basking in the bright light of LA or elsewhere, it is an essential accessory this summer.

Images via Louis Vuitton

The silhouette of the Pre-Fall 2013 collection is based on the Spring/Summer 2013 fashion looks. It retains the same eloongated lines, combined with different lengths, but maredly and purely reminiscent of the Sixties. Nevertheless, the feminine Pre-Fall 2013 silhouette recalls the understated elegance of Jeanne Moreau in Truffaut’s film “The Bride Wore Black.” Elements of men’s late nineteenth century apparel and opulent yet austere details create a more intellectual, dramatic tension. The Pre-Fall 2013 heroine reflects the solemn glamour and sobre grace of a very young Romy Schneider. This neo-aristocratic refinement is reflected in the choice of lace, which makes quite a presence in the collection yet is still subtle.

In continuity with the Spring/Summer 2013 fashion show, the House’s two signatures, the Monogram and the Damier pattern are shown with a graphic 3D and decidedly feminine twist. The Monogram apprears in a tufted relief on the Deauville cube bag. And the Speedy’s canvas is embellished with 3 layers of sequins and color coordinated leather details in black, red, and blue.

Monogram Tuffetage

Monogram Tuffetage Canvas Deauville Cube
Colors: Red, Caramel
Size: tba
Price: US$2650

Suede Tuffetage

Suede Tuffetage Deauville Cube
Colors: Gris
Size: tba
Price: US$2950

Damier Paillettes

Damier Paillettes Speedy 30
Colors: Black, Red, Blue
Size: 6.7″ x 8.3″ x 11.8″
Price: US$2350

Images via Louis Vuitton

The innovative new Louis Vuitton bag is shaking up the House’s graphic vocabulary. Its tight lines, suggesting the penmanship of a W, outline a three-part body, which is enhanced by the blending of various materials. These emblems of the House identify a belonging to the great leather goods tradition of Louis Vuitton and underline its groundbreaking design. In this new alphabet, the bag has plenty of surprises in store, both visual and tactile.

Geometric and generous, supple yet not limp; its perfect sculpting reconciles the comfort of a large bag with the bearing of a sophisticated accessory. This virtuoso composition creates a figure of elegant modernity, providing women with the vigour of a youthful appearance and the comforting reassurance of a great classic.

Through its combination of tradition and innovation, the latest Louis Vuitton creation presents the epitome of the House’s know-how. Externally, it offers a doubly harmonious character, combining the smooth and silky surface of rare leathers with the emblematic Monogram canvas, or with a velvety tufted effect, embroidery on leather inspired by the art of tapestry. Inside, the intelligently designed space in suede leather features many different pockets, offering a logical place for all the objects which can be found in the intimate compartments of a woman’s life. The impeccable quality of each of the bag’s composite elements tells of the tradition conveyed by a House that respects a long-standing culture of excellence.

A clear reference to the history of Louis Vuitton, the “signature materials” of the House come together and enhance each other in this unique creation. Freshness, modernity, and elegance: the latest addition to the Louis Vuitton family has every sort of appeal.

Louis Vuitton W Bag Collection consists of five pieces in 2 sizes: PM and GM. The collection is set to be released on July 2013.

Monogram W Bag PM
Size: tba
Color: Noisette
Price: US$3650

Monogram W Bag PM
Size: tba
Color: Black
Price: US$3650

Monogram Tuffetage W Bag PM
Size: tba
Color: Pistache
Price: US$4250

Monogram Tuffetage W Bag GM
Size: tba
Color: Gris
Price: tba

Fleur Tuffetage W Bag GM
Size: tba
Color: Prunille
Price: US$4650

Images via Louis Vuitton

When you’re the original 24-hour bag, an overnight stay is your raison d’être. Even when you’re full or overflowing, you still have space for a memory or two. Trust me, I know.

I hate long-haul travel. Why? Because whenever Chen jets off to Europe or the United States, I’m left languishing in her closet. From the top shelf, I can see her, so slender and graceful, packing her suitcases – those big ones with wheels, the ones that go in the hold. And it’s absolute torture! I try to console myself by remembering that she chose me for my elegance, for my supple Monogram canvas and my leather handles, but I pine away in her Beijing apartment until she returns.

This time, however, I heard her say that she is going to a trade show in Shanghai for two days. And I’ll be going with her! She and some of her employees are taking the high-speed train that will get them to Shanghai Hongqiao station just over five hours.

On Wednesday, when Chen came home from the office, she took off her shoes and climbed up on the teak ladder to retrieve me from my shelf. I perked up instantly, the grain of my canvas almost quivering with excitement… A lingerie pouch, a toilet bag, a pair of stilettos, that wonderful little black cocktail dress… It’ll be a bit of a squeeze. But I would do anything for Chen.

First thing next morning, we were on our way to Beijing South station. She, elegant as ever. Me, never in better shape. The bullet train for Shanghai was at the platform, and Chen’s colleagues were already waiting by the door of coach 2. The journey started well enough, with me in the overhead luggage rack, but I was soon to be disappointed. I had been so looking forward to seeing the scenery, but at nearly 200 miles an hour, I couldn’t see a thing.

I was so terrified by the train’s speed that I did not recover my composure until we were in the limousine which collected us from Hongqiao station. It drove us to the hotel in Pudong, a building towering 1,600 feet above the Huangpu River. I was dazzled by the interior design and dumbstruck by the elevator – a rocket launch is surely nothing by comparison.

On the 86th floor, a butler ushered us into our suite, putting me down right by the huge picture window. Suddenly, I felt dizzy. I hoped they wouldn’t leave me there… The butler must have sensed my discomfort, because next thing I knew I was in the walk-in wardrobe where he was arranging Chen’s things. Folded by his expert hands, I could at last relax while I mused on the words of the writer and traveler Ella Maillart: “I wanted to forget that we had inevitably to return home.”

Images via Louis Vuitton

From Parnassus, the mythical dwelling place of the muses, the new Louis Vuitton Parnasséa leather goods collection has inherited the beauty of its forms, the perfection of its materials and the harmony of its colours. From the Parnassian movement in poetry, it has plundered its imaginative élan and compositional precision. To the Montparnasse district of Paris, a hotbed of artistic creativity, it owes its inspiration and finesse.

In homage to Paris, that historic capital of the arts, each bag and smaller leather goods bears the name of a famous street: Alma, Vivienne… Resonant, evocative names, like so many invitations to a poetic stroll decked out in elegance.

The four bag designs – two LV icons and two new creations – and two smaller leather items come in a choice of four kinds of leather. Each one embodies a style and expresses a personality. To caress their surface is to be transported on a journey of the senses.

Smooth, silky, natural Racine calfskin is blended with the deep, subtle shades of Cashmere calf to adorn the compact Vivienne in its daytime incarnation, while the stringent refinement of Box leather gives it the sheen and lustre of the night. Taurillon leather enhances the forms of the Tabor and Alma bags with the suppleness of its voluptuous grain. Technicolor interpretations of the emblematic Alma and SC Bag — in Cashmere calf and Taurillon leather open a new chapter in an already rich legend.

Elegant, rare and desirable, each handbag is timeless in its own discreet, enduring way, transcending fleeting desires to become a unique, indispensable, eternal accessory.

The Louis Vuitton Parnasséa leather goods collection is set to be released on July 2013.

SC Bag

When Sofia Coppola visited the Louis Vuitton workshops at Asnières in 2009, she was dreaming of a bag. She wanted it to be precious and unostentatious, a subtle reworking of the iconic forms of the Speedy and Keepall models. Joining the pantheon of the House’s emblematic creations, the SC Bag has now been reinvented in small and mini versions, the height of charm and refinement. Its smooth curves have taken on bold colours, from Quetsche to Clémentine to the more low-key black and white.

Alma

Spare and pure, like the lines of an art deco building, the Alma, first created in 1934, commands a special place in the firmament of the House’s emblems. The elegant simplicity of its design keeps it forever young. Today, the soft feel of its leather is combined with a palette of warm, matte colors, lending a touch of fantasy to its classic chic.

Tabor

Sleek and elegant, Tabor harbours many secrets. The precious rings of its distinctive handle were inspired by the world of Louis Vuitton’s jewellery and the House’s famous initials, subtly lined with leather, enhance the texture of a highly original, invisible closing flap.

The multiple facets of Louis Vuitton’s broad range of know-how are all concentrated in the sophistication of this handbag, the better to recount a tale of discreet, self-assured femininity.

Vivienne

The Vivienne adopts a light-hearted, youthful silhouette, a two-tone, upbeat urban bag for the daytime. With its clever compartments, everything is in its place, right down to the handy little pocket. Decked out in black box leather with an accent of monogrammed gold, it becomes a joyous celebration of the Parisian night.

Vivienne Wallet

Preciously nestled inside a handbag or carried intrepidly in the hand, these small leather goods are ready to adapt to every moment in a woman’s life. With their ingenious designs, they keep credit cards, money, IDs, etc. in perfect order. Elegantly adorned in exceptional leathers, enhanced by the House’s signature detailing, they emanate style with a subtle grace.

Images via Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton chose to create its shoes Manufactures de Souliers in Fiesso d’Artico, a town near Venice that sits on the banks of the River Brenta and has been the ancestral home of shoe-making since the 13th century. Just as it did with its leather-goods atelier in Asnières, France, and its watch Atelier in Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the House found in Fiesso d’Artico the perfect balance between traditional savoir-faire, excellence in craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology.

More than a simple Manufacture, Fiesso d’Artico includes departments for design, training and logistics, and even an art gallery, all in an exceptional setting.

Here, Louis Vuitton shoes – from the most elegant ladies’ shoes to training shoes, as well as loafers and a made-to-order service for men – are envisaged, designed and created. It is about teamwork based on different talents and a shared passion, all with one ambition: to share with the house’s clients the artisanal savoir-faire that is also an expression of emotions. The presence of design and prototyping in the heart of the Manufacture also allows for a healthy and rich dialogue between designers and artisans, one that offers shoes of unbridled creativity that respond to the highest standards of comfort and quality.

The Manufacture’s artisans – the majority from the surrounding area – are the guardians of a savoir-faire passed down from master to apprentice. Fiesso d’Artico includes a department dedicated to Made-to-Order, which allows gentlemen to create pairs of personalised shoes by selecting the shape, leather and finish of their choice. this possibility, which requires extremely specialised skills, also aims to preserve and pass on traditional knowledge that is in danger of disappearing, such as the entirely handsewn Norwegian stitch or the art of the patina, skills which are also passed on in the workshop.

Traditional does not mean frozen in time, however, and these long-established methods are part of a dynamic vision that aims to reinvent itself constantly and always go one step further. At Fiesso d’Artico, hi-tech equipment coexists with handstitching – technology is used to assist the artisan. Heritage is alive and well, brought up to date by a vision of the future and a passion which is also passed on in the region’s schools. With Fiesso d’Artico, Louis Vuitton has written a manifesto for a dynamic tradition that always has one foot in the future.

Images via Louis Vuitton

On the occasion of the opening of the Louis Vuitton Venice Maison, the House showcases the new Fall-Winter 2013 shoes in their original setting.

It is here, in the Veneto region, at Manufactures de Souliers in Fiesso d’Artico, that Louis Vuitton shoe collections have been crafted since 1998. And it is here, in the heart of the City of the Doges, that the finest leatherwork and shoemaking skills, renowned worldwide, were born more than seven centuries ago. From the back streets to the canals, you are invited to take part in a treasure hunt in search of the Calegheris, the city’s artisan shoemakers. The aesthete Venice is the birthplace of the finest shoes, but also of the most ornate creations resulting from a skill that has always been reinvented, and continues to do so today. You will now discover Louis Vuitton’s latest designs in an inventive hanging display – a trail of beautiful objects that will lead you around this inspiring city permanently in motion. You will also explore the history of these craftsmen and their skills, sculpted on the walls of the city’s churches and palaces over the centuries. Between yesterday and today, between memory and creation, this is a fascinating journey through our collections, the bold creativity that inspires them, and the skills that shape them.

Images via Jamie Rubiano / Louis Vuitton