I must admit, I’ve sometimes wondered if millionaires have ever had the experience of going camping and waking up in the middle of the night to a rock sticking out of the ground and impaling them in the back. They miss this.

I didn’t take into account that millionaires can let other people carry their luggage, so saving on packages is not for them. Then, Why not bring your own mattress stuffed into a trunk? This will definitely sound more 19th century to you, but Louis Vuitton’s latest fad for millionaires in 2024: the Bed Trunk, the travel storage bed.

Louis Vuitton Bed Chest: the return of a luxury legend

The history of this luggage, house By Bernard Arnault, for being one of the star products of Louis Vuitton and high society in the second half of the 19th century.

In those days, safaris and rural exploration were the norm among high society, and traveling across the vast African plains was not incompatible with maintaining the comforts that a comfortable economic situation afforded them. That’s why they became famous Louis Vuitton bed chestsIts history dates back to 1868, when the French house introduced a revolutionary concept for the time: the Bed Trunk, a chest that transformed into a folding bed.

Louis Vuitton’s son, Georges Vuitton, patented the design in 1885, making it popular among millionaire explorers and military officers who valued both the durability and aesthetics of the body.

Louis, Georges and Gaston-Louis Vuitton (lying on a crate) pose with workers in their factory in 1888

This “luxury folding bag” not only offered comfort to elite travelers, but also symbolized the brand’s signature innovation and luxury. In fact, Louis Vuitton designed a special version, the Camp Bed Trunk, for the military, and this model can still be found as a collector’s item at auctions.

Already in 2024, Bernard Arnault decided to revive this iconic piece and launched two new versions in collaboration with designer Nicolas Ghesquière and Pharrell Williams, who in his new phase away from the stage is the creative director of men’s fashion at Louis Vuitton.

New Bed Trunks combine the brand’s 20th century sophistication and elegance with the historical heritage of the brand’s origins. “This piece takes us to another level of luxury and functionality,” they emphasize Forbes.

house To save this piece of its history, they presented three versions of their choice of the simplest and most understated version, dominated by the ubiquitous Monogram print, and two reinterpretations of men’s and women’s fashion by design executives. All retain their aluminum and beechwood construction, which allows the boot to be opened and converted into a stable bed, with a four-section viscoelastic mattress providing maximum comfort.

A new look for the luggage bed

The interpretation of Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director of Louis Vuitton women’s collections, gives Bed Trunk a futuristic and unique aesthetic. Ghesquière used sculpted metal sheets and reinforced corners that evoke an alien, dystopian world, as if the body were to travel to the stars.

Pharrell Williams, on the other hand, paid tribute to his archives by taking Bed Trunk in a different direction. houseIt has a design that evokes the style of the first Louis Vuitton trunks.

The exterior is covered in distressed stripes that reference the patterns of the 1872 Louis Vuitton, while the interior combines white and red stripes with a mattress and pillow emblazoned with the phrase “LV Lovers.” The structure consists of light wood contrasting with black aluminum hardware.

These new versions of the Bed Trunk are available to order and are examples of Louis Vuitton’s constant reinvention. The price varies as follows: 160,000 euros for the Monogram modelPharrell Williams’ rendition costs 190,000 euros, or 220,000 euros for the model designed by Nicolas Ghesquière. There are no special products aimed at a select customer base seeking the maximum expression of luxury and comfort.

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Image | Louis Vuitton