路易·威登的皮包是怎樣做出來的？

路易·威登的皮包是怎樣做出來的?

In 1859, the luxury pioneer Louis Vuitton moved his family home from central Paris to the suburb of Asnières. Designed by Vuitton’s son Georges, the ancestral residence is an Art Nouveau extravaganza, replete with floral motifs, a ceramic chimney and stunning stained glass windows. Across the lawn is the atelier, in continuous operation for more than a century and a half, where the company’s famous rigid trunks, beautiful bags and special orders are made by skilled artisans. Inspired by the style of Gustave Eiffel, it has an airy architecture articulated by steel beams, and though it was completely renovated and expanded in 2005, it retains its original facade and configuration.

1859年，奢侈品先驅路易·威登(Louis Vuitton)把家從巴黎市中心搬到了阿涅爾郊區(qū)。這棟祖宅經威登的兒子喬治斯(Georges)設計，具有新藝術派的奢華風格，到處是花朵圖案，還有陶瓷煙囪和極其美麗的彩繪玻璃窗。草坪對面是工作室，迄今已經連續(xù)運轉了一個半世紀。技藝精良的技師們在這里制作公司著名的精致皮箱、漂亮手包以及特殊訂單。受居斯塔夫·埃菲爾(Gustave Eiffel)風格啟發(fā)，這棟輕盈通透的建筑也是用鋼梁搭建起來的。雖然它在2005年經過了徹底翻修和擴建，但是仍保持了最初的外觀和外形。

This weekend, Louis Vuitton and other brands in the LVMH family open their private workshops in France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland for the second edition of “Les Journées Particulières,” a rare chance for the general public to see how these beautiful wares are made. The Louis Vuitton atelier will receive a thousand guests, who will visit the facilities and see the process firsthand. For everyone else, a virtual tour:

這個周末，路易威登以及路威酩軒(LVMH)集團下屬的其他品牌將為第二期“特別的日子”(Les Journées Particulières)活動，開放它們在法國、意大利、西班牙和瑞士的私人工作室。公眾可以借這個難得的機會看看這些美麗的物品是怎樣做成的。路易威登工作室可以接待1000名客人，他們參觀工作室里的設施并親眼觀看生產過程。所有不能親臨現場的人，可以跟我來一場虛擬之旅。

On the workshop’s ground floor, artisans select and prime materials. Here, carpenters create the skeletons of those legendary LV trunks with supple wood sourced from France and Africa, the combination of which helps the luggage withstand variable weather conditions. Nearby, the less exotic leathers are stored — lamb and goat for linings, veal and cowhide for exteriors — all at a constant temperature (between 16 and 19 degrees Celsius). The house’s signature material is flesh-colored natural cowhide leather, the basis for all monogram bags. The more exotic leathers — stingray so thick you can’t stitch into it, python skins as long as eight meters — require specific expertise. Each exotic skin is colored and given a matte or glazed finish, then cut with pressurized machines, except for special orders, which are always cut by hand.

在工作室的一層，技師們挑選并準備原材料。在這里，木匠們用從法國和非洲運來的柔韌木料制作經典LV皮箱的框架，這兩種木料的結合可以使皮箱經受各種天氣情況的考驗。旁邊存儲著一些常見的皮料——做襯里的小羊羔皮和山羊皮，外面用的小牛皮和母牛皮——這些皮料都要保持恒定的溫度(16至19攝氏度)。這家公司的標志性材料是肉色的天然牛皮，它是所有交織文字手包的基礎材料。一些更特殊的皮料需要用特殊技術進行處理——黃貂皮很厚，不能縫制，蟒蛇皮能有8米長。每種特殊皮料都要染色，表面處理成啞光或者亮光，然后用加壓機器切開，特殊訂單除外，那些都是手工切割的。

Upstairs, craftsmen assemble and perfect the pieces. Glimpsing an unfinished handbag lining is like catching someone in her underwear: it appears denuded, vulnerable. Nearby, the wooden frames for the trunks are covered with canvas and leather. Following the rules on how to place the materials is a skill unto itself: the logo must always be centered, the monogram must never be cut, the flowers must correspond perfectly from one edge to another. Next, the signature Louis Vuitton “tumbler lock” is put in place. Since the founding of the company, every trunk has been given a unique registered lock number. It holds the secret of when the trunk was made, by whom, and where it was purchased.

在樓上，技師們組裝并裝飾這些物品。瞥見沒完工的手包的里面，就像瞥見一個女人只穿內衣：它看起來赤裸而脆弱。旁邊的皮箱木框架上蓋著帆布和皮料。遵守組裝這些材料的規(guī)定本身就是一種技術：商標永遠要放在正中間，交織字母永遠不能被切掉，兩端的花朵圖案必須完全一致。接下來，裝上路易威登標志性的 “杠桿鎖”。從該公司創(chuàng)建以來，每個皮箱的鎖都有獨一無二的登記號。根據登記號，能查出皮箱的制作時間、制作技師以及購買地點。

Another floor up, a staff is dedicated entirely to refining the exotic skins. It’s calmer and quieter here, as practiced workers focus intently on rendering harmony among the incredibly sensitive and expensive skins that constitute a single accessory. Without a doubt, the expert craftsmen throughout the building are the key to the entire operations. So it’s fitting that they wear beige lab coats or aprons with pockets that bear their name and the year they started, below the company name — a nod to their own contribution to the legacy of this one-of-a-kind maison.

再上面一層，有一群員工專門負責優(yōu)化外部的皮料。這里更安靜，熟練的工人們專心致志地工作，為構成這件配飾的各種嬌貴皮料賦予平衡之美。毫無疑問，這幢大樓里的專業(yè)技師們是整個制作過程的關鍵。難怪他們穿著米黃色的實驗室大褂或者圍裙，衣袋上公司的名字下面是他們的名字和開始工作的年份——這是在感謝他們對這家獨一無二的公司做出的貢獻。