Louis Vuitton Trianon Sac de Nuit GM (grande model)
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro 2014
The first thing you’d notice about this bag is how weighty the canvas and sturdy the construct of the bag is for its satchel size, where even in GM, it was clearly meant as something more fashionable heritage narrative than a luggage carry-on.
The Trianon Sac De Nuit was created and produced in limited edition in conjunction with the celebration of Louis Vuitton’s 150th anniversary, paying tribute to Vuitton’s early days of 1854 – 1892, when Vuitton began selling light weight flat-topped trunks covered with their signature grey Trianon canvas. Prior to Vuitton’s flat-topped trunks, most trunks for travelling had rounded tops so that water would run off, the disadvantage being that they could not be stacked. It was Vuitton’s Trianon canvas, airtight flat trunks that allowed stacking with ease, for voyages.
This satchel has one of the roundest, most adorable bottoms of any Louis Vuitton bag series I’ve seen.
You could say that this satchel is sentimental and charming because the Trianon Sac de Nuit is a modern reinterpretation of the canvas used on LV’s first trunks. The satchel is uncomplicated, designed for easy access as an old-fashioned ‘doctor’s bag’ in a single compartment. Its split handles are trimmed with Suhali or goat grained leather and it was here that I noted how very neatly the leather was rounded and sealed. Smooth to the touch.
The rivets used on this series of satchels are also reminiscent the original rivets used on the trunks. Measuring a roomy 14.5″ x 9″ x 7″, this GM is not exactly one for formal occasions but it can do well for everyday office wear or occasions that call for smart casual / semi-formal dress codes. Compared to the vachetta leather trims of most signature Vuitton bags, this satchel with its waterproofed canvas, seems a little more rain friendly, needing fairly low maintenance.
What I found attractive with this satchel is how it opens to reveal an attractive red and white pin striped cotton lining with the stamp LOUIS VUITTON INVENTEUR – 101 avenue des Champs-Elysees, PARIS. All this in straight forward reminder that prior to the alcantara plush, it was cotton and canvas for Louis Vuitton’s sea-faring trunks.
Short of owning a piece of Louis Vuitton wardrobe or trunk in the original, the Trianon Sac de Nuit and the Trianon canvas series as such is a bit of Vuitton’s nostalgic narrative you can grab on a swing. The craftsmanship, as with all Louis Vuitton bags, is excellent. It is reminiscent of the man, Louis Vuitton and his early beginnings of hours of labour in meticulous craftsmanship on a specific item to the point of perfection and sustainable design that stays through the test of time.
The Trianon Sac de Nuit in GM features:
- Toile Trianon cotton canvas and Suhali goat leather
- Striped cotton and polyester lining inspired from the trunk beds
- Varnished polished brass hardware
- Unbuckles to change into a flat shape
- “Louis Vuitton Inventeur” on the leather label outside the bag
- “Sac de Nuit, Déposé en France et à l’étranger, Louis Vuitton Inventeur, 101, avenue des Champs Elysées, PARIS” can be read on the lining
- L 14.5″ x H 9″ x W 7″