Where to find a classic Louis Vuitton trunk

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Last December, a gigantic monogrammed Louis Vuitton trunk descended upon the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The structure, a façade concealing the development of a new Louis Vuitton hotel, was instantly recognisable. Trunks were the original Vuitton product and, more than 150 years after Louis Vuitton founded his label in 1854, they remain the most iconic expression of the world’s most valuable luxury brand. From the very first flat-topped canvas edition through to the stripy, chequered and monogrammed versions that followed, demand for the luxury carriers has yet to cease. You can see them with Audrey Hepburn in Love in the Afternoon (1957), Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can (2002) and on Instagram with Rihanna as she strolls off a plane. 

They’re very discreet and I like how they show their age

Louis Vuitton produces new models of trunks every year, priced from £2,000 for coffrets: Tyler, the Creator recently collaborated with menswear creative director Pharrell Williams on a capsule collection featuring classic brown trunks updated with a multicoloured blossom motif, while in Vuitton’s 2022 advertising campaign featuring Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, they played chess atop a brown leather trunk. Lucile Andreani, Christie’s head of handbags and accessories for EMEA, has observed a “peak” in demand for some of these more recent iterations, such as those produced by the late designer Virgil Abloh. A limited-edition green trunk from his 2020 collection recently sold on 1stdibs for $372,000.

A copper Explorer Wardrobe trunk, sold at Christie’s for €189,000

A monogram canvas library trunk, sold at Christie’s for €88,200

Yet classic, elegantly aged pieces tend to dominate the secondary market. Vuitton is “arguably the most recognisable fashion brand in the world”, says Tim Bent of vintage-luggage specialist Bentleys. “People are fascinated by its history.” For Andreani, their longstanding appeal is in their ability to “transport us back to the eras they were used in”. A wide collector base also helps keep prices up, with those looking to invest competing against buyers furnishing hotels and homes.

For Bent, antique leather pieces are the holy grail. “They’re very discreet and I like how they show their age,” he says. He’s currently holding onto a leather shoe trunk from the 1920s, which has been fitted with an English lock by Bramah, a locksmith known for its “unpickable” designs. He teases that it will be for sale, eventually.

“I try to find the best original, untouched, unrestored versions,” Bent advises. As with a vintage designer bag, a touch-up can risk depreciating the value of an item, and patina adds character and evidence of authenticity. Look out for any oxidation on the hardware or natural wear of the canvas or leather.

Establishing pedigree is essential. The now-ubiquitous LV monogram was only introduced in 1896 to battle counterfeits, and on earlier Trianon (canvas) and Damier (chequered) versions, the trademark branding is not so obvious. Elisio Das-Neves, who has been trading in the Paris Puces since 1997, explains where one should look. “Louis Vuitton trunks will always have a label inside with their unique number,” he says. “The corner studding is also all signed, as are the wooden slats found on some of the older trunks.”

A 1934 canvas trunk, sold for €81,900 at Christie’s

a c1926 canvas trunk, sold for €94,500 at Christie’s

For those in search of added panache, there are plenty of wackier models on the market. Christie’s auction house recently closed its Legendary Trunks sale, the largest collection of Vuitton trunks ever offered (it had been amassed by a private collector). The 98 lots included a copper rifle trunk (which sold for €138,600), a shiny brown alligator caviar set with gold hardware (€25,200) and a bespoke monogrammed canvas croquet trunk (€30,240). Ninety-five per cent of lots sold, totalling €2.4mn, a world record for a collection of the brand’s trunks. Currently on sale with In Luxury We Trust is an antique picnic trunk that can serve six, complete with a glass decanter (£47,000). Bent searches “anywhere and everywhere” for trunks, but the most “magical” are often discovered by chance. Online marketplace Catawiki recently auctioned off a large-format 19th-century Zinc Explorer (with hermetically sealed locks designed for travel through humid climes) after seller Chloé Panissierrare discovered it underneath a tablecloth at her mother-in-law’s home in the south of France. “Only about 50-100 of these trunks exist today,” Catawiki’s Fleur Feijen says of the model, which would have been produced to order. 

Karrie Trim regularly peruses sites such as eBay, Poshmark and The RealReal for her next find. “I’m always hoping someone will post without knowing what it is,” says the Washington-based collector. When we speak she is on the hunt for a Sharon Stone vanity case (a great place for collectors to start, Feijen advises) to add to her 21-strong archive, which dates from between 1871 and 2023. But she keeps an open mind. “Sometimes the trunks find me, sometimes I find them.”