A look from the Louis Vuitton fall 2012 runway show during Paris Fashion Week on March 7.
In 2012, Louis Vuitton was named the world’s most valuable luxury brand for the seventh straight year by market research company Millward Brown. Worth a staggering $25.9 billion, it’s easy to see how the French fashion house became 2012’s most-searched company. Unlike some luxury brands, though, Louis Vuitton also has mass appeal: its monogram is one of the most recognized in the world, and its beloved artistic director, Marc Jacobs, has introduced ready-to-wear clothing, accessories and artist collaborations to a company that had been best known for its leather bags and suitcases. Jacobs, too, has brought a younger, more fashion-forward clientele to the legendary house, which had teetered on feeling stuffy before his arrival in 1997. This March, a Paris exhibition called “Louis Vuitton-Marc Jacobs” paid tribute to the designer’s work and the brand’s enduring legacy.