Louis Vuitton: how two iconic bags came to be
This week at Consign Couture, we’ve had a steady stream of Louis Vuitton bags, wallets, apparel and accessories coming in and out of the shop, so it seems appropriate to tell the story of two of them!
LV Noe, a bag with a bubbly history
First up, a bag with a very particular history: the Louis Vuitton Noe Bucket Bag.
Chick but sturdy, the Noe’ bag was the result of a special commission: in 1932, a winemaker approached Gaston-Louis Vuitton (grandson of LV founder Louis Vuitton) in want of a stylish bag to give his clients that could be used to transport multiple bottles of champagne. The original versions of the bag could hold four bottles of bubbly standing upright, with a fifth inverted in the middle. The reinforced bottom kept them supported and the drawstring top held the bottles in place to prevent clanging together and breaking. The bag has since been released in multiple sizes and reimagined in dozens of colors and prints.
Why “Noe’”? Noe’ is the French version of the name ‘Noah’ and, as the story goes, is a reference to the Biblical Noah, who, after descending from the Ark, planted a vineyard to make wine. We love a practical & stylish piece with a special story behind it!
LV ALMA: made for an icon.
We don’t use the word “icon” lightly, but in this case, we think it’s deserved. Today we’re talking about the Louis Vuitton Alma, a handbag with a distinctive shape that’s sleek, spacious, and sits somewhere between a bowling bag and a doctor’s bag. The Alma was designed nearly 100 years ago, in 1925, but didn’t debut to the public until nearly 10 years later.
And why not? Rumor has it that it was first created as a custom design for Coco Chanel herself, and it wasn’t until later that she gave permission for the bag to be put into production for public consumption. This too was designed by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, grandson of LV founder Louis Vuitton, and has since been re-imagined in dozens of colors, prints, materials, and designs by during collaborations with artists.
