Retracing the Trunk is a statement short film about Louis Vuitton’s legendary and iconic design piece: the trunk. A product that first took its audience by storm in the 19th century, the video directed by Les Courtisans looks to the past, giving us a visual chronology of where the piece has come from, with displays of its signature monogram and its age-old wooden frame. And it reminds us of its firm position within a current, global fashion world, taking us through its changing faces until we reach the present day.
The visual translation of Vuitton’s obsession piece, whose longevity is undeniably remarkable, precedes the near-release of the associative literary text The Trunk. The text is a collection of short stories about historical figures associated with LV trunks through history (including accounts of stunt performer Houdini, and murderer Michel Trade). Collated by 11 of Paris’ finest writers, it recounts anecdotes of magic, invention, and stories of scandal that had, until recently, been stowed away - fittingly - within the space of a trunk at the Louis Vuitton home.
Just as the characters of the past are used as a figurative lineage of the trunk, retracing a history of tales and re-placing them within a global imagination, the video plays a somewhat similar role. Visually, it instills that despite time, space and trend, the trunk is a piece that is fluid. It adapts to wherever you have come from and will travel with you to wherever you are going – from then until now, and possibly forever, as it becomes a part of your own story.
