Two hundred years ago, French luxury icon Louis Vuitton was born. To celebrate, the house has unveiled a new collection of high jewellery inspired by the formidable founder and his impact on the industry at large.
The 90-piece collection is the brainchild of Louis Vuitton’s artistic director for jewellery and watches, Francesca Amfitheatrof. The 53-year-old pored over Maison’s archives to ensure Vuitton’s legacy was reflected accurately and artfully. And that’s no small feat, considering the visionary is responsible for the iconic canvas trunks and the famous monogram, among many other innovations that paved the way for modern luxury.
“I was surprised that a fashion house like Louis Vuitton was created through the sheer courage of one young man,” said Amfitheatrof. “Driven by his curiosity about the world, he embarked on that incredible journey across France. That’s why we have named this collection ‘Bravery’. It’s not a word often used in high jewellery! Yet these notions of determination and adventure are intrinsic to Louis Vuitton, and we wanted to express them through this collection.”
Fittingly titled Bravery, the collection is comprised of eight chapters that chart Vuitton’s life chronologically. Think of it as a biography depicted with the finest gemstones and metals. Necklaces are the centrepiece of each chapter and symbolize milestone moments in Vuitton’s life. The collection also includes rings, earrings and brooches.
A lot of the mystique around jewellery lies in storytelling and myths, and in this aspect, Louis Vuitton has no shortage of rich history to draw upon. The Bravery high jewellery collection is built upon brand founder Louis Vuitton’s historic journey from his native Jura to Paris, where he would found the iconic French brand.
The first chapter, La Constellation d’Hercule, was named for the constellation under which Vuitton was born on August 4, 1821. The bib necklace is made up of tanzanite, tsavorite and Australian opals that represent the night sky full of stars.
The next major milestone came when Vuitton left home at aged 13, just a few years after his mother died. It took him three years to travel 250 miles from the rural Jura region in eastern France to Paris as he perfected his craft along the way. This plight is depicted in the striking La Flêche necklace, which features three rows of platinum, yellow gold and white gold, entirely pavé-set with diamonds and Colombian emeralds to represent the forests.
The pièce de résistance is the three-row Le Mythe necklace (top) that combines several Louis Vuitton signatures, including the Damier (checkerboard) pattern, studs and motifs inspired by trunk locks and the flower icon. Encrusted with sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, it represents Vuitton laying the foundations for his house that is now a global tour de force worth almost $15 billion. That’s certainly worth celebrating.