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Louis Vuitton City Bags: A Natural History, by Jean-Claude Kaufmann, Marc Jacobs, Florence Muller, Ian Luna, Mariko Nishitani, and Colombe Pringle, is a book that charts the evolution of Louis Vuitton, a cultural phenomenon in the fashion industry. Summary of the Book At the nub of Louis Vuitton, perhaps the most familiar luxury brand in the world, are its City Bags - a spectacular spectrum of women's bags that found its inception during the turn of the 20th century. Highlighting the monograms of the company logo, the City Bag story started with the Steamer - a resort bag that was designed to be much bigger steamer trunk. From day bags to work bags to clutches, the City Bags are well-known for their clever and practical aesthetics. Greatly influential, they are now familiar to millions of people across the globe by their very descriptive names such as Keepall, Bucket, Papillon, Alma, Locket, Noe, Speedy, etc., and are still developing into more fascinating forms. These bags have evolved over a century, officially expanding into a dizzying collection of handbags for every imaginable purpose demanded by the contemporary woman. This book contains an extravagant collection of new and archival photography, bygone graphics, breakthrough editorials and ad promotions. It also talks about Vuitton’s alliances with Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama and Rei Kawakubo among others. About the Authors Jean-Claude Kaufmann is a photographer, writer and producer. Marc Jacobs is the creative director for Louis Vuitton. He is also the designer for the Marc by Marc Jacobs line. Florence Müller is a curator, renowned fashion historian, and associate professor at the Institut Français de la Mode. Ian Luna is an author and editor at Rizzoli. He has authored many titles on urbanism, fashion design, architecture, and industrial design. Mariko Nishitani is the Professor of Popular Culture Department, Fashion Course at Kyoto Seika University. He was previously the Vice Editor in Chief of High Fashion at Bunka Publishing Bureau, and Vice Editor in Chief of SOEN at Bunka Publishing Bureau. Colombe Pringle is a journalist at the French newspaper, L'Express. She has also worked for Elle and Vogue magazines. She has also compiled Telles qu'Elle, cinquante ans d'histoire des femmes à travers le journal.