Anatomy of a Classic: Louis Vuitton's Petite Malle Review

In 1835 an ambitious 13-year-old named Louis Vuitton left his home, in France's mountainous Jura region, for Paris, where he found work as an apprentice to master trunkmaker Monsieur Maréchal. Louis displayed such a talent for the craft that Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, eventually hired him to create custom trunks for her corsets and crinolines. The rest, as they say, is history.

Photography by David Schulze

The hardware, which is available in a range of metals, including rose gold, yellow gold, and palladium, is added by hand as one of the final steps in the Petite Malle’s construction.

Vuitton struck out on his own in 1854 and five years later opened a workshop in Asnières, northwest of Paris. By the 1860s his flat, stackable trunks had revolutionized travel for the era’s jetset.

Photography by David Schulze

After covering the bag in the client’s leather of choice, artisans secure the edges via Louis Vuitton’s signature lozinage technique, in which small brass nails are hammered along the border.

For 170 years Vuitton’s exquisite cases have remained largely unchanged, apart from a few updates. In 1892, for example, his son Georges-Louis created the famous LV monogram as an homage to his father. Then, in 2014, creative director Nicolas Ghesquière reimagined the trunk once more—as a handbag.

Photography by David Schulze

Making a Petite Malle requires up to 200 operations. This model, which is wrapped in lizard leather, was inspired by the fountains and water features in the gardens at Versailles.

The Petite Malle bears all the hallmarks of the full-size OG: the wooden box construction made with poplar, protective lozine edges, those signature latches and locks. And like many of its predecessors, it can be personalized—in exotic skins like crocodile, ostrich, and lizard (above), with the customer’s initials, and with a panoply of colors, finishes, and hardware options.

Photography by David Schulze

As with LV’s traditional trunks, this bag is lined with cotton and dressed with the maison’s signature crisscross malletage, and it can be customized with a patch of the customer’s initials for a bespoke touch.

Ten years after its inception, the Petite Malle is as relevant as ever—and an icon in its own right. Sure, it may not have the capacity of the original, but haven’t you heard? Traveling light is now a power move.

Shop the Petite Malle Lizard