The Noé design debuted in 1932. In strict chronological terms, the Noé is the second oldest Louis Vuitton bag. Its birth date of 1932 places itself at the start of an exceptional decade that saw the creation of other Louis Vuitton icons: the Speedy, the Alma and the Keepall.
The story of its creation is of legend. The Louis Vuitton Noe was first introduced in 1932 when a champagne house contacted (Gaston Vuitton) Louis Vuitton to make a bag that would hold 5 bottles of champagne. Gaston-Louis Vuitton then designed a timelessly simple bucket shape, which could hold four bottles upright and a fifth upside down, secured with a supple leather drawstring. The bag still serves this function: 4 bottles with the bottom down and the 5th inverted and nestled between the others. However, its bottle carrying capacity notwithstanding, the bag is primarily used as a practical city bag for everyday use. He called the bag Noé – in reference to a biblical character who planted grapevines on the mountains of Ararat after he left the Ark. According to Louis Vuitton the name Noé is French for Noah, who was not only famous for loading animals on the Arc, but for his ability to consume wine.
The original Noé was crafted from natural leather, pale gold like the champagne it was destined to carry, and light as its exuberant ribbons of bubbles. Throughout the years, the Noé has remained as one of the French luxury house’s most iconic bag styles alongside the Speedy, the Alma and the Keepall, and has seen many variations in the Monogram canvas, the Damier Azur and the Epi leather.
Today, this bucket bag is very much loved and is popular for everyday bag, worn by women all over the globe. The legend lives on, a truly time-tested classic bag. Noé forever!
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