Louis Vuitton Bucket Handbag

We’ve been speaking to Sophie Higgs, Designer Collection Specialist at Fellows Auctioneers, on why Louis Vuitton handbags are so popular at auction. Lot 215 in Fellows’ upcoming Designer Collection, is a French Company (Louis Vuitton) vintage bucket handbag. Designed with the traditional features of the French Company period and has an estimate of £200-£300.

The French Company made bags under a special license for Louis Vuitton in the US from the mid 1970’s through the early 90’s to keep up with the production demands in North America. The French Company items were made differently to the Louis Vuitton bags that we see today, this makes them incredibly sought after.

One of the different features was that French Company bags don’t have a date code like we seen in Louis Vuitton items today, instead they have a tyvek (paper-like) tag sewn into the seam of the bag. Since tyvek tags could very easily be removed, finding on intact is incredibly rare. The hardware is also very different from current models.  It has plated nickel instead of brass and it was not embossed with the Louis Vuitton name or Logo.

Louis Vuitton – French Company vintage bucket handbag

The French Company did not use the natural vachetta cowhide leather that we see today, instead they used various treatments and coatings which made the leather caramel in colour and so wont patina or water mark. The coating helped to protect the leather and ultimately made it more hardwearing.

The bags are also one of the rare exceptions to the ‘no monograms cut off’ rule in Louis Vuitton products, usually highlighted as a ‘red flag’ when trying to detect counterfeit bags, another reason why The French Company bags are so unique. These bags are incredibly collectable and very hard to come by so don’t miss your chance to own this gorgeous vintage gem.

Sophie Higgs, Designer Collection Specialist at Fellows Auctioneers