In this new Assouline book, over 350 images are spread out over 400 pages dedicated to the Maison.
A book collaboration by French fashion house Louis Vuitton and luxury publisher Assouline was announced at the start of this month. The book, titled Louis Vuitton Manufactures, showcases the ateliers and artisans that create the maison’s stunning pieces.
Louis Vuitton fosters the idea that an atelierAtelierAn atelier is a designer's or artisan's workshop where bespoke garments, jewelry, or art are conceived and hand-produced, rather than a conventional retail studio. In Philippine luxury and fashion circles,Go to Atelier Glossary can be a place of fulfillment and individuality, a place where savoir-faire can be learned, respected and transmitted, and innovation nurtured. As shown in the tome, their artisans routinely challenge the image of a traditional workshop.
In pursuit of regional expertise and artisanalArtisanalMade in small batches by skilled hands using traditional or carefully honed methods, rather than mass production. In luxury, artisanal products, from handwoven textiles to craft chocolate, carry a storyGo to Artisanal Glossary excellence, the brand’s ateliers span the length and breadth of France as well as to places such as Geneva, Fiesso d’Artico, and even Texas. Sites of historic interest or outstanding natural beauty will often have a Louis Vuitton workshop nearby: In Normandy, the sea-girt fastness of Mont Saint Michel can be seen from the workshop at Ducey, and in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, our light-flooded facility promises low environmental impact.
Featuring photographs commissioned exclusively for this book, the volume showcases the extraordinary locations and buildings of Louis Vuitton’s ateliers. Of course, also given the spotlight are their extraordinary artisans who express their talent through the House’s creations, while carrying the founder’s techniques and savoir-faireSavoir-FaireFrench for knowing how to do, describing skill, expertise, and craftsmanship passed down within a trade or maison. In luxury, savoir-faire refers to specialized techniques, such as hand embroidery, watchmaking,Go to Savoir-Faire Glossary into the 21st century. It is to these ateliers and the inspiring people who work there that this book is dedicated.
This special publication is brought to life by Nicholas Foulkes. The author, historian, and journalist is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Financial Times How to Spend It, and The Rake Magazine, and luxury editor of British GQ. Best known for his trilogy of nineteenth-century British histories, Last of the Dandies, Dancing into Battle, and Gentlemen and Blackguards, he has published around 30 books on history, the arts and style.
Among his recent works are a biography of the painter Bernard Buffet (Random House) and Time Tamed, a history of mankind’s calibration of time from the Palaeolithic era to the moon landings (Simon & Schuster). His books for Assouline include Bals: Legendary Costume Balls of the Twentieth Century (2011); Swans: Legends of the Jet Society (2013); The Impossible Collection of Watches (2014), and Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (2020).
Photos courtesy of LOUIS VUITTON
Frequently Asked Questions
Louis Vuitton Manufactures is a book by Louis Vuitton and luxury publisher Assouline, announced in February 2022. It runs 400 pages with over 350 images, documenting the maison’s ateliers and the artisans who create its pieces.
Nicholas Foulkes, an author, historian, and journalist, is behind the book. He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Financial Times How to Spend It, and The Rake, luxury editor of British GQ, and has published around 30 books on history, the arts, and style.
Louis Vuitton’s ateliers span France as well as Geneva, Fiesso d’Artico, and Texas. In Normandy, the Ducey workshop sits within sight of Mont Saint Michel, and the Beaulieu-sur-Layon facility is described in the book as promising low environmental impact.
The book presents the ateliers as places of fulfillment and individuality, where savoir-faire can be learned, respected, and transmitted, and innovation nurtured. It shows artisans challenging the image of a traditional workshop while carrying the founder’s techniques into the 21st century.
Foulkes’s Assouline titles include Bals: Legendary Costume Balls of the Twentieth Century (2011), Swans: Legends of the Jet Society (2013), The Impossible Collection of Watches (2014), and Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (2020). He is best known for his trilogy of nineteenth-century British histories.
