In 2026, the Louis Vuitton Monogram celebrates 130 years. From its origins in 1896 to its place in pop culture, on streets and red carpets, the Monogram has been admired by generations, remaining one of the world’s most recognisable prints.
The first print I ever recognised from the glossy pages of magazines or through seeing it endlessly on street style pictures or paparazzi shots was the Louis Vuitton Monogram. From writers to rappers, designers to footballers, everyone seemed to be wearing it, and to be doing it effortlessly, in socks or luggage, hats, or even full head-to-toe looks. It was easy to understand why everyone wanted a piece of it.
The popular print wasn’t created by Louis Vuitton himself, it was created by his son, Georges Vuitton, in 1896. At its core, it served a practical purpose: to protect the Maison from counterfeiting. Yet even then, its design extended far beyond function. Drawing from Gothic typography, four-petaled florals inspired by the tiles of the Vuitton family home, and the influence of Japonism that was captivating Europe at the time, the modern interlocking LV and the motifs formed a code that people would aspire to replicate for decades.
By the mid-20th century, the Monogram had already begun its cultural ascent. In the 1960s, Audrey Hepburn carried it effortlessly, cementing its association with elegance and modern femininity. Two decades later, in 1980s Harlem, Dapper Dan reimagined the Monogram entirely, placing it onto silhouettes and contexts Louis Vuitton could no longer ignore. In doing so, he pushed the print from the realm of traditional luxury into the streets.
Over time, the print travelled from trunks designed for transatlantic journeys to the streets and screens of the modern world. The Monogram became a shorthand for luxury itself. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Monogram entered a defining new era shaped by pop culture and collaboration. Under Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton opened its archive to artists, allowing the print to be disrupted, coloured, and remixed. Stephen Sprouse scrawled graffiti across it, Takashi Murakami infused it with pop colour and cartoon-like graphics, and Richard Prince reframed it through irony.
The print became inseparable from the cultural figures who wore it. Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey, Lil’ Kim, all helped cement the Monogram’s place in pop history. In recent years we have seen it on Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Travis Scott or Rosalía, who have worn head-to-toe Monogram looks, or Gen Z royalty Bella Hadid, who carries her Louis Vuitton collection across New York, London, Milan and Paris, year after year.
In 2026, Louis Vuitton marks 130 years of the Monogram. What began as a response to counterfeiting has become one of fashion’s most powerful visual signatures, a print that reflects not only the Maison’s history, but the shifting relationship between luxury, culture, and self-expression. To mark the anniversary, Louis Vuitton will celebrate its Monogram icons and launch a dedicated anniversary collection through three capsule collections.
