EVEN an untrained eye for fashion can spot a Louis Vuitton bag a mile off, as the internationally renowned LV monogram logo has become as familiar as the McDonalds "M" and Coca-Cola’s red and white label.
Carried and worn by cutting-edge pop stars and old-school royalty alike, Louis Vuitton will now finally be kitting out its fans in Edinburgh.
For, following in the footsteps of Harvey Nichols, it is the first of many luxury brands expected to cop
y the famous department store and deem the Scottish capital fashionable enough to merit its presence.
Today the brand’s first stand-alone store outside London will open on the corner of Multrees Walk, right next to Harvey Nicks, whose presence has undoubtedly influenced Vuitton in choosing Edinburgh.
Synonymous with wealth and style, the arrival of one of the world’s most iconic brands further secures Edinburgh’s status as a style capital, and the store will also be the first to inhabit the £30 million retail development off St Andrew Square.
While LV clothes won’t be on sale, the store is stocking a sizeable selection of its celebrated leather goods: accessories, shoes and luggage. So some of this season’s most coveted fashion must-haves will at last be available north of the Border.
And the hottest addition to the LV collection is a sporran made in the trademark monogram leather - newly commissioned and unique to the Edinburgh store. Initially, the company’s Parisian designers were slightly bamboozled by this male fashion accessory. However, they are said to be delighted with the final result.
Xavier de Royere, the managing director of Louis Vuitton UK, will be in town this week along with family member Patrick Vuitton to oversee the early moments of the brand’s Scottish life.
"Edinburgh is renowned for its unique cultural heritage and modernity - a spirit that mirrors the essence of Louis Vuitton," he says.
"We are extremely excited to bring Louis Vuitton to Edinburgh. A store in Scotland marks an important evolution of our business in the United Kingdom.
"As the world’s leading luxury brand, it is important for us to fulfil the expectations of the discerning customers of this capital city. The size [it’s more than 2000sq ft] and prominence of the store, with its impressive position on St Andrew Square, demonstrates the confidence Louis Vuitton holds in the future of its business in Edinburgh."
Among the classic staples of the collection will be seasonal collectables such as the Eye Love monogram bags created in collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. While still sporting the famous LV logo, it’s the multicoloured design that has added a twist for the spring season. But while they look contemporary in finish, the leather goods are all perfectly constructed in a time-honoured tradition that has been handed down since the company’s conception in 1853.
Far from being a glamorous flash in the pan, Louis Vuitton has a delightful fairytale history punctuated with European royals and Hollywood stars. The company’s founding father, Louis Vuitton, was employed to pack French Empress Eugenie’s wardrobe during the second empire of Napoleon III. He then used his new-found knowledge of packing to design his own luggage, and from there the business was born.
The young Vuitton’s efforts addressed the practical requirements of a wealthy aristocracy, newly fascinated by the possibilities of foreign travel. His practical designs doubled as travelling wardrobes and their popularity for that use has never ceased.
By the 1890s, the luggage had taken on the famous LV monogram, along with the slightly lesser-known Damier chequer-board pattern.
Since then, the brand has been an established favourite with the rich and famous, while other products have come and gone.
Joan Collins has always travelled with her evening dresses safely tucked away under the gold lock and key of a LV trunk, and Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost do the same. Their handbags, however, are what has put Louis Vuitton on the wish list of many a woman.
Adored by Kate Moss, Elle MacPherson and Victoria Beckham, to name but a few, any celeb worth their A-list status has at least one LV monogrammed item in their wardrobe. However, Mrs B failed to live up to her "posh" reputation last year when she was duped by a fake version of the Vuitton graffiti bag given to her by a fan.
Like many luxury brands, though, times have been tight for Vuitton in the past, and the company was merged with Moet Hennessy in 1987, but since then it has gone from strength to strength. Now part of LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury goods group - headed by Bernard Arnault - whose 50-strong portfolio of brands includes Christian Dior perfumes, Fendi and Kenzo fashions and Moet & Chandon champagne, Louis Vuitton was a major contributor to its £1.37 billion profit last year.
Another reason for its continuing success is that in 1997 the company hired designer Marc Jacobs as artistic director. Injecting a fresh lease of life into the very traditional look, his ready-to-wear fashion and shoe collections were early innovations that had the fashion pack falling over themselves for his designs. This season he sent models down the catwalks of Paris and New York in pretty pastel shades and 1950s-inspired ladylike glamour, putting Louis Vuitton at the forefront of fashion once again.
Fiona Moriarty, the director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, says LVMH was right to choose Edinburgh for its first UK store outside London.
"They know they’ve got one of the best retail sites in Edinburgh and that over the next three to five years the Walk is going to be the prime shopping avenue in Edinburgh. They are in this for the long haul - they know that this is a site that will attract top-end tourists as well as people who live and work in and around Edinburgh."
Socialite Kelly Cooper Barr, who helped compile the guest list for Harvey Nichols’ star-studded opening bash, is also on board for Vuitton’s housewarming party, which is scheduled for early May.
"I adore the bags," says Barr. "I have at least five of them. This store opening in Edinburgh is great for fans like me, who in the past have had to travel to London. I love the new spring/summer collection and it is so nice that the Edinburgh store launch coincides with the launch of the new accessories."
But let’s hope that Edinburgh’s fashionistas don’t take their love of the LV monogram to the same level that R&B star Lil’ Kim did. The rapper posed naked for photographer David LaChapelle with her entire body painted with the famous design.
Thankfully, it’s probably too cold for that in Edinburgh.
