Luxury brand: Louis Vuitton's luxuriously crafted travel trunks and luggage have a timeless appeal

It’s not that the French fashion and luxury luggage brand Louis Vuitton has been keeping a low profile.

Louis Vuitton luggage remains one of today's most sought-after in vintage markets.
These were seen at the interiorboutiques.com stand at the Winter Decorative Fair in Battersea Park, London,
January 22 - 26 2025.
Photo by Lucia Carpio

Just last week, on the opening day of Paris Men’s Fashion Week, Louis Vuitton unveiled its Fall/Winter 2025 menswear collection, helmed by artistic director Pharrell Williams. The show generated significant media buzz, largely due to its collaboration with Japanese designer Nigo. A nostalgic ode to the 2000s, the collection reflected the duo’s 20-year relationship, dating back to their work on Billionaire Boys Club in 2004.

Historically, Louis Vuitton luggage was used by royalty, aristocrats, and celebrities.
Owning a vintage piece is often seen as owning a piece of history.

Then, this week, came another major announcement: Louis Vuitton will be the title sponsor of Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16, 2025. With prominent trackside signage, the official race name will be the Formula One Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix, featuring LV-designed trophy trunks on the podium. This partnership falls under the 10-year sponsorship deal that Louis Vuitton’s parent company, LVMH, signed with Liberty Media-owned Formula One last October—covering brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy, and TAG Heuer.

Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton’s long-standing collaboration with Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami is celebrating its 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, LV is relaunching the collection with a campaign fronted by Hollywood star Zendaya, who was only eight years old when the original collaboration debuted. Murakami’s vibrant and playful designs made a major impact two decades ago, and the new “extensive re-edition” includes over 200 pieces, ranging from bags and footwear to fragrances and sunglasses.

Yet, despite this flurry of high-profile projects, Louis Vuitton was noticeably absent from the latest Lyst Index ranking of the world’s hottest brands.

This week, when global fashion search platform Lyst released its Q4 2024 Lyst Index—a quarterly ranking of fashion’s most sought-after brands—Louis Vuitton failed to make the Top 20.

Lyst, which tracks over 200 million shoppers annually, compiles the Index based on online searches, product views, sales, and social media engagement over a three-month period. According to Lyst, 2024 was a year of transformation in fashion, with consumers reassessing the value of luxury labels. Miu Miu dominated, taking the No.1 spot in three of the last four quarters, with Loewe briefly disrupting its streak in Q2. Prada remained a consistent Top 3 brand, while Saint Laurent climbed steadily within the Top 5.

The rest of the ranking saw significant movement, reflecting shifts in consumer preferences. Notably, Coach skyrocketed 10 places to No.5, experiencing a 332% year-on-year surge in demand thanks to a Gen Z-focused strategy and strong holiday sales.

LV’s menswear AW25 collection, blending streetwear influences with its luxury heritage, showcased boxy bomber jackets, distorted camouflage, checked Damier prints, shaggy cardigans, and flared denim. While tailoring was minimal, the collection embraced bold accessories, catering to younger consumers with chunky furry slippers, miniature bags, phone cases, backpacks, and even travel trunks.

Early Louis Vuitton flat-top trunks, wardrobe trunks, or pieces with exotic finishes can be especially valuable.

An antique Louis Vuitton steamer trunk or wardrobe trunk in excellent condition is valued for
 its age, provenance, and rarity.  Unique features like custom monograms, original interiors, and labels from different boutiques add to their value.

These were spotted at the interiorboutiques.com stand during the Winter Decorative Fair in Battersea Park, London, in January 2025.

It’s a stark contrast from the brand’s origins in luxury travel trunks. Yet, despite the shift in aesthetic, Louis Vuitton luggage remains one of today's most sought-after categories, both in contemporary and vintage markets.

With a legacy dating back to the mid-19th century, Louis Vuitton trunks and suitcases are crafted from premium materials like canvas, leather, and brass hardware, ensuring their durability and timeless appeal. The classic monogram canvas, Damier checkered print, and other signature motifs have never gone out of style, making vintage pieces highly coveted by collectors. Vintage trunks are often used as statement pieces in home decor. Their timeless elegance makes them versatile as coffee tables, storage units, or conversation starters.

Perhaps, in today’s volatile fashion landscape, Louis Vuitton should consider refocusing on its core business—luxuriously crafted travel trunks and luggage—an evergreen symbol of prestige, heritage, and craftsmanship.

The vintage Louis Vuitton luggage featured here were spotted at the Winter Decorative Fair in Battersea Park, London from January 22 - 26 2025.  The fair offered a unique mix of antiques, design and art for interiors and exteriors as well as collectable pieces of outstanding craftsmanship.  All photos by Lucia Carpio.

Market update:  

In the week of January 29, reports emerged that French luxury conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) faced declines in both revenue and profit, reflecting the impact of challenging market conditions in fiscal year 2024.

For the year, group revenue totaled €84.7 billion, marking a 2% decrease compared to the record-breaking figures of 2023. However, on an organic basis—adjusted for currency fluctuations and portfolio changes—revenue showed a modest 1% increase. In the final quarter, the group also achieved 1% organic revenue growth, surpassing market expectations.

Performance by Division

Fashion & Leather Goods (including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Loewe, Givenchy, and Celine) recorded €41.1 billion in revenue, a 3% decline (organically -1%) from the previous year.

Wines & Spirits saw an 11% revenue drop (organically -8%), bringing in €5.9 billion.

Watches & Jewelry declined by 3% (organically -2%) to €10.6 billion.

Perfumes & Cosmetics was a bright spot, growing 2% (organically +4%) to €8.4 billion.

Selective Retailing—which includes DFS, Sephora, and Le Bon Marché—increased 2% (organically +6%) to €18.3 billion.

Profit Decline

LVMH’s profitability also took a hit:

Profit from recurring operations dropped 14%, totaling €19.6 billion.

Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 17% to approximately €12.5 billion.

Despite the declines, LVMH remains the world’s largest luxury group, navigating economic headwinds while maintaining growth in selective areas.

Second-hand clothing market sets to overtake the fast fashion movement

One of the reasons why I have problem de-cluttering my wardrobe is because I still love all my old clothes and accessories. (Marie Kondo, look away.)  Now take the cue from celebrities who are going for pre-owned clothing.  Leader of the pack is Kim Kardashian West who was photographed recently sporting vintage Azzedine Alaïa and Versus Versace.

Indeed various studies have shown that the second-hand clothing market is set to grow massively in the coming years, and will overtake the so-called "fast fashion" market.

Consumers are increasingly turning towards second-hand clothing, with conscientious buyers set to make pre-loved items a bigger market than so-called ‘fast fashion’ by 2029.  Photo supplied by BusinessWaste.co.uk.

Unless we have beloved relatives and ancestors who pass us their hand-me-downs, second-hand clothing outlets are where we can source desirable additions to feed our quest for something "near new" to wear.

According to a poll conducted this week by the waste management agency, BusinessWaste.co.uk, consumers are beginning to shake off their prejudices about wearing second hand clothing. While just 20% said they currently regularly buy second-hand clothes, some 90% said they could be influenced to start doing so by friends or family doing so first and 94% would follow celebrities who do so.

Interestingly, while both younger and older fashionistas were seemingly happy to shop second-hand – 80% of 16 – 21 year-olds and 91% of over-sixties, respectively – the overall percentage averaged at 45%, suggesting that there are cultural elements at play, according to Mark Hall, Communications Director of BusinessWaste.co.uk.

 “Older people are used to buying clothes that were made to last and passing hand-me-downs through families, which explains this age group’s willingness to buy second-hand. And, on the other end of the scale, young people are increasingly environmentally conscious, which could certainly influence their shopping decisions and cause them to turn away from fast fashion.  However, those in their thirties and forties are perhaps of a generation more used to consumerism, having grown up in the excessive 1980s – it’s certainly an interesting generational divide,” said Mark.

He added: “People are turning to second-hand clothing – not just out of financial necessity, but out of choice. There’s a huge opportunity here for retailers to improve their green credentials and tap into a growing number of consumers who would like to buy stylish clothing, but without the ethical concerns. Some well-known retailers already feature vintage or pre-loved selections in store and there’s clearly room for these to be more widely available – consumers still have the benefit of shopping curated lines of (second-hand) pieces in line with their preferred style, but without the environmental impact.”

The San-Francisco-based secondhand fashion marketplace ThredUp has also released similar findings in its 2019 Resale Report, saying the secondhand apparel market has been growing 21 times faster than retail apparel over the last three years and is on track to be larger than fast fashion by 2028.

“Resale offers the wardrobe-rotating fun of fast fashion without the guilt or waste. By driving preferences away from fast fashion towards higher quality clothes, reuse is a boon for our personal style and the planet.” says Elizabeth L. Cline, Author of the Conscious Closet.

Real Art in Print and images of London used as statement art.

Love London?  Images of key architecture and aspects of the capital are great for making show-stopping statements and stimulate lively discussion.

Britain's Crowning Glory.
This magnificent vintage poster design from Printism shows London at its best as the sun streams across the city on a lovely fine afternoon.  Displaying an abundance of detail, the poster depicts an usual angle of view designed to take in a range of famous city features including the London Eye, Houses of Parliament and Battesea Power Station as well as Hungerford and Westminster Bridges. An iconic double-decker bus can also be seen traversing Waterloo Bridge in the foreground. 

Just launched by Printism is this vintage style London poster shown above, available as print only, framed print or stretched canvas in a huge range of sizes, right up to an impressive height of over two metres – perfect for creating that wow factor or statement wall in the home, office or shop front.  Whether you're 'born and bred' British, a visitor from abroad wanting a spectacular souvenir of a short or long stay, or an expatriate missing home, this design, "Britain's crowning glory", captures the spirit of London.

Printism from Australia produces vintage travel posters and advertising posters from the 1930s, 1940s and beyond, and delivers worldwide.

 The London Mono Collection by Katie Cardew

Meanwhile, British illustrator Katie Cardew  has got a new monochrome collection of iconic London buildings, available framed or unframed available on her web-shop,  along with her other prints and cards in a range of subjects, including maps and animals.  Katie is happy to do commission work as well.

Print made to resemble a classic London Underground ticket from Of Life & Lemons.

Howabout this lovely print above, made to look like a classic London Underground ticket, featuring the quote 'When man is tired of London, man is tired of life'. Instantly recognisable as a London Underground ticket, this print makes a perfect gift for anyone who loves London and is a guaranteed talking point! The print is available in A4, A3, A2 and A1 sizes.  Available from Of Life & Lemons 

is also a series of witty poster prints, tea towels and tote bags inspired by everyday humour, incorporating quotes and sayings to bring fun artworks to life. The range is entirely made in the UK.

Digital print of the famous Tower Bridge over the river Thames, London, by Tabitha Mary.

And British artist Tabitha Mary who is inspired by old railway posters, has made a series of prints featuring world famous iconic city images such as the Tower Bridge of London shown above.  

The artwork are now available as digital prints and signed Giclee prints both with an option of framing, in A4 up to A1 sizes, all made in the UK too.  Tabitha Mary also produces greeting cards and tea towels.