A brand’s popularity will tend to rely on two main pillars: the first being revenue and the second, relevance. Complementary, and usually conducive to one another, both factors will tend to reach their apex once a label’s visual language becomes legible regardless of context, and without the need for any form of explanatory text. Louis Vuitton belongs to that rare category, its monogram print having not only stood the test of time but most importantly stands on its own, instantly recognized and associated with the notions of haute-couture, heritage, and sartorial know-how. And next month, it will be celebrating the 130th anniversary of its creation.
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Iconic by every measure and metric, the ubiquitous pattern has become synonymous with the House it adorns the creations of. First imagined in 1896 by Georges Vuitton — founder Louis Vuitton’s only son — as an homage to his father and a way to deter counterfeiting, the motif has grown into one of the label’s signatures, managing to outlive the industry’s appetite for constant novelty and change. And as its prepares to celebrate over a century of existence on Jan. 11, 2026, the French Maison is releasing three capsule collections — Monogram Origine, VVN, and Time Trunk — to honor its legacy and reinterpret some of its core elements.
Each playing in some way or form on the design’s subtleties, the Monogram Origine revisits the original pattern on a new canvas made of linen and cotton and in a new range of pastels from baby blue all the way up to Barbie pink. The VVN — short for Vache Végétale Naturelle in French — centers itself around unprocessed, vegetable-tanned leather the label has been using since its early days that privileges age and touch over surface polish. Last, but not least, the Time Trunk collection uses trompe-l’œil printing techniques to recreate the worn textures and metallic details of the House’s original trunks, bringing Louis Vuitton’s travel heritage back in a way that still feels familiar.
Available in select stores starting next month, the capsule will tie past and present together and make many reconsider, or at least rethink, how legacy, when in the right hands, can resist nostalgia and still operate in a modern context.
MONOGRAME ORIGNALE BLEU COURRIER (SUPPLIED).
VVN ALMA PM SOFT (SUPPLIED).
TIME TRUNK ALMA GM (SUPPLIED).
