The  founder Louis Vuitton was born in Jura, France (now part of the commune of Lavans-sur-Valouse), but moved to Paris in 1835. The trip from his hometown to Paris was over 400 kilometers, and he traveled the distance by foot. On his way there he picked up a series of odd jobs to pay for his journey. Two years later, at the age of 16, he apprenticed for the luggage manufacturer Monsieur Marechal. In 1854 he founded the company, which is now owned by LVMH, a French holding company helmed by Bernard Arnault.

In 1854, Vuitton opens his first store in Paris on Rue Neuve des Capucines, founding Louis Vuitton Malletier a paris. Before his quality trunks, French philosopher, Denis Diderot & Jean Le Rond d''Alembert makes mention of a Malletier and his techniques about 140 years earlier.In addition, Vuitton began by selling flat-topped trunks that were lightweight and airtight. All trunks before this had rounded tops for water to run off and thus could not be stacked, it was Vuitton''s gray Trianon canvas flat trunk that allowed the ability to stack for ease with voyages.

The business was formed in 1854 and luggage begin to give way to handbag designs. The ever popular Noe bags were originally made to carry 5 bottles of champagne but it''s success was so phenomenal that upscale women everywhere began to carry this elegant bag. The Damier Canvas design had it''s debut in 1888 and in 1896, the familiar Monogram design was launched to try and counteract the replicas made by his competitors who were copying his unique styles. The Monogram logo consists of intersecting LV initials with a curved beige diamond and a 4 point star inset. The design is continued by it''s negative consisting of a beige circle with a four-leafed flower inset. A PVC coating is added to the fabric which is embossed with it''s own design.

By 1885, the company opens its first store in London, beginning its international growth and reputation. Soon thereafter, the Damier Canvas pattern is created by Louis Vuitton and bears a logo that reads "marque L. Vuitton d¨¦pos¨¦e," which translates to "mark L. Vuitton deposited" or, roughly, "L. Vuitton trademark".

Today Louis Vuitton still stands for the highest quality and any purse that comes from their factory that does not meet these standards is destroyed. This company has stood the test of time for 3 centuries and continues to be a force in the fashion history of handbags.