Inside the Louis Vuitton Workshop Giving Bags a Second Life

Ahead of LVMH’s Journées Particulières, the Cergy atelier shows repair as a craft in its own right

Louis Vuitton runs 12 repair workshops worldwide, handling nearly 600,000 items a year. Its Cergy workshop near Paris, open since 1991, employs around 30 artisans who care for leather, carry out repairs and restore antique trunks.

Repair also sits within LVMH’s LIFE 360 environmental programme.

Why repair is gaining ground:

1. Repair is treated as a skilled trade, with techniques passed between artisans
2. LVMH aims to build repairability into products from the design stage
3. A longer product life gives customers a reason to stay loyal

Repair has always been part of craft. A darned Kantha, a re-soled Kolhapuri or a restitched block-printed bag keeps its value because a skilled hand can fix it. Before you replace something you love, find someone who can mend it.