Travel has been integral to the Louis Vuitton heritage from the very beginning. The core of the maison is its series of travel trunks ingeniously crafted to be flat, airtight, and lightweight. The tops of trunks before that were rounded and they could not be stacked. Since then, Louis Vuitton has become an all-inclusive luxury fashion house, offering an extensive range of items, from ready-to-wear to bags and accessories.
Even though trunks aren’t a common sight on airport baggage conveyor belts now, its modern luggage carries on the heritage. In 2016, a collaboration with industrial designer Marc Newson revived its design ingenuity in travel. As a familiar collaborator with the maison—he designed “the ultimate contemporary backpack” in 2014—Newson created Louis Vuitton’s Horizon Rolling Luggage.
As opposed to the traditional positioning of the extendable cane towards the middle of its width, which creates an awkward depression in the interior compartment, Newson positioned the Horizon’s flush at each end, flattening the interior compartment and extending the handle’s length for better ergonomics. It is this large external cane that gives the Horizon series a distinct look, even without the Monogram canvas exterior.
Photo: Louis Vuitton.
Since then, the Horizon Soft duffle and the Pégase, both with the same cane design have been added to the series. “I wanted all three luggage collections to have a consistent vocabulary and share similar innovations,” he says.
Forward-thinking design is what Newson does best. While the future is uncertain, thinking ahead creates a template for future possibilities. We can say the same for the faces of the Louis Vuitton ‘Horizons Never End’ campaign: Jackson Wang and Lionel Messi.
Wang competed as a fencer for the Hong Kong national team in his teens. He even took part in the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010. Despite this, he always loved music. Following a successful audition for one of South Korea’s biggest talent agencies, JYP Entertainment, Wang dropped everything and moved to South Korea to pursue music as a K-pop idol. His debut as a member of Got7 came in 2014, followed by solo stints. Additionally, he pursued independent projects under his Team Wang label.
Photo: Louis Vuitton.
Wang’s K-pop training paved the way to his career as an international musician, culminating in his first full English album Magic Man in 2022 and two consecutive years performing at Coachella, the world’s biggest music festival.
Messi is a recent world champion—a title he finally earned at the 2022 FIFA World Cup after playing football since his adolescence. The Argentine has plied his talents for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and captains the Argentina national team. He is a decorated football player having broken multiple records throughout his career, including a record six European Golden Boots as well as seven Ballon d’Ors.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he made his 26th appearance—the most achieved by a single player to date. While initially stating that it would be his last World Cup appearance, the victory changed his mind: “I want to continue playing as a champion.”
Wang and Messi may have made their marks in different arenas, but they have one thing in common: their futures hold a lot of promise. While Messi’s global popularity puts him in good stead for his next pursuit if he decides to leave football, Wang still has youth and plenty of room to grow. However, both possess a steely determination and a commitment to their respective pursuits, distinguishing them from the others around them. Nonetheless, they remain open to wherever their journey may lead them.
Photo: Louis Vuitton.
“I like to imagine and think about things that might happen. But I don’t know what my future will be. And it will be whatever it has to be,” says Messi.
Whatever the future holds, their journeys will continue because of their obsessive dedication to their craft—just like the Louis Vuitton Horizon.
