The Louis Vuitton monogram is one of fashion’s definitive motifs: created in 1896 by Georges Vuitton in tribute to his late father – and house founder – Louis Vuitton, it has remained a revered emblem of global luxury for the 130 years since.
This year, the Parisian house marks this substantial anniversary with a celebration of the monogram, beginning with a new version of the ‘Speedy’, perhaps the house’s best-known handbag and an enduring emblem of its own (the Speedy was introduced in 1930 as the ‘Express’ and iterations have been on the shelves since, reimagined by everybody from Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to former menswear creative director Virgil Abloh).
Wallpaper* Design Awards: Louis Vuitton’s monogrammed Speedy is our ‘Best Party Bag’
Louis Vuitton ddvertisement published in L'Illustration in 1931, depicting the wardrobe trunk
Adorned with a special label to ensure its collectible status, the new iteration features the original 1896 monogram rendered on the house’s contemporary linen-and-cotton canvas – the type of throughline between past and present which has long defined the house’s oeuvre.
Reimagined in bold pastel hues, the monogram is applied using the traditional ‘pochoir’ stencilling technique, and also features on an array of other reissued classic handbags, from the 1992 ‘Alma’ – an ode to Parisian architecture named after the city’s Alma Bridge – to the ‘Noé’, which was originally designed to carry five bottles of champagne.
Though it is the Speedy which is our award winner: an accessory that, like the monogram which adorns it, has stood the test of time.
Discover all the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2026 winners in the February issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + from 8 January 2025. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today