The Buzz About Louis Vuitton

It all started with a trunk.

After serving as an official packer for Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, Louis Vuitton started producing his own line of trunks. When his designs became incredibly popular with the French upper class, Vuitton opened his own store in 1854. His legendary brand continued, leaving a legacy for his son, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, who began producing stylish handbags in addition to luggage. The high-end bags were a hit with celebrities like Audrey Hepburn, who helped spread the popularity of the Vuitton brand.

The Modern Brand

Now, the Louis Vuitton brand is known throughout the world and is a favorite of modern celebrities like Madonna and Kanye West as well as with average men and women who covet the couture brand's collections. The brand's offerings have extended beyond luggage, purses and small leather goods to include apparel, jewelry, belts, scarves, shoes, sunglasses and watches.

A Fashion Favorite

Every season, critics and Vuitton-lovers anxiously await what the brand will unveil, and somehow, the luxury company never seems to disappoint. Its most recent collections proved no exception when models recently took the runways sporting the Louis Vuitton brand name.

Menswear Spring 2012

Kim Jones and Marc Jacobs created the looks for Louis Vuitton's spring 2012 show, which GQ summarized as modern tech meets traditional luxe. With embellishments like real, 24-karat gold thread in its neckties and engineered alligator skin on its jacket-fronts, you can easy see how the description applies. Jones drew heavily on his upbringing in Africa when creating new looks for the line. For example, he incorporated the bold colors of Masai tribal blankets into this season's canvas and letter belts.

Sweet Nothings

It seems that anything with the Louis Vuitton name creates a buzz, sometimes more literally than others. At the brand's headquarters in Paris, several beehives have been placed on the roof. For the last year, apiarists have cared for the bees. Recently, Louis Vuitton produced its first batch of honey to be given exclusively as gifts to top customers, friends and family. Since the announcement of this new venture, the online world has been buzzing like the rooftop bees with people hoping to snag a jar of the honey for themselves.