- - This Treasured Motif Is Celebrating a Big Birthday

Brooke BobbDecember 30, 2025 at 1:30 AM

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The Louis Vuitton Monogram is 130 Years Old Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

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Fashion is an industry built on the idea of change–trends that shift, creative directors that switch jobs, and products that go in and out of style. Some things, however, remain constant, like Louis Vuitton’s iconic monogram. On January 11th, the LV print turns 130-years-old, marking a stunning heritage that began with Georges Vuitton in 1896. To celebrate, the house is releasing a Monogram Anniversary Collection, which includes three special-edition bag capsules–the “Origine”, the “VVN”, and the “Time Trunk”. With styles like the Speedy and Noé, the carryalls feature new materials like a linen and cotton blend jacquard weave and a trompe-l’oeil print that reproduces the textures of the original trunks.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

When Georges Vuitton, the son of the house’s founder, invented and patented the monogram many decades ago, he did it as a way to protect the label’s identity amidst a rise in copycats of Vuitton’s trunks and luggage. The signature letters complete with a floral motif were designed so that they could be, according to Georges Vuitton, “printed or embossed in any color, on any surface–canvas, leather, imitation leather, or paper.”

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

And in the years that followed its debut, the monogram has been reimagined in extraordinary ways. There are the classic totes and carryalls of course, like The Speedy and the Keepall, but also the contemporary runway interpretations from creative directors like Marc Jacobs and Virgil Abloh, both of whom gave new life to the LV monogram through artist collaborations and radical colorways. There was the Stephen Sprouse graffiti collection during Jacobs’s tenure–an idea that initially raised eyebrows because of the way the monogram was nearly covered by big, neon, scrawled-on letter spelling out Louis Vuitton. Pop culture nearly exploded with Takashi Murakami’s rainbow interpretation, brought to life under Jacobs, as well as Abloh’s metallic PVC monogram bags and his addition of chunky, chainlink hardware. Former Vuitton men’s director Kim Jones brought streetwear into the monogram universe with a collaboration with Supreme in 2017.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Nicholas Ghesquière has also of course given vibrant new life to the monogram in his nearly 13 years as creative director of Vuitton women’s–he’s integrated the monogram into spectacular ready-to-wear and added the LV to his “Petite Malle” or “Little Trunk” bag. And Pharrell Williams, who took on the role of Vuitton men’s in 2023, has designed the soft Speedy in a range of bright colors.

The Monogram Anniversary Collection is a celebration of this long legacy of craft and innovation, as well as the monogram’s continued influence within the worlds of fashion and pop culture. After 130 years, the LV is as luxurious–and covetable–as ever.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”