The one and only Louis Vuitton Chantilly bag

The Louis Vuitton Chantilly; a simple, yet timeless crossbody bag. A comfortable bag for the modern woman who needs to carry around her essentials, but doesn’t want to carry around a heavy bag.

We are not completely sure of when the Louis Vuitton Chantilly was first made. What we do know is that there are multiple Louis Vuitton bags with date codes that go back to at least the early 80s. This is why we believe that this is the time period when the bag was originally designed.

Fun fact: The word ‘Chantilly’ literally translates to “(prepared or served with) sweet whipped cream”.

We do not know if “whipped cream” is the actual inspiration behind the name of the bag. However, Louis Vuitton is known to name its bags after places or cities. Which we believe happened with the Chantilly as well. Because Chantilly is also a French commune, located close to Paris. The town is famous for its lacework, porcelain, but also for the château de Chantilly. This château was built in 1358. We imagine that the city and/or the château has been the real inspiration behind the name of the bag. 

The design of the bag

The Chantilly is characterized by its simple design. The bag is small, and designed to be worn on the shoulder or crossbody. It has a rounded shape and closes with a buckle. The shoulder strap on the bag is long and can be adjusted to the preferred length. The bag is made out of monogram canvas, has a Vachetta leather shoulder strap, as well as leather details and trims. Inside there is one main compartment and one small pocket that can be closed with a zipper.
 

The sizes of the Chantilly shown on a mannequin, to show the size difference - by Fashionphile

The different sizes of the bag

The Chantilly is, like many Louis Vuitton bags, available in three different sizes: a small, medium, and large model, named PM, MM and GM. The design stays the same in all three sizes, so there aren’t any noticeable differences except for what would fit inside the bag. 

Redesign: Cruise collection 2012

Once in a while, Louis Vuitton surprises everyone with bringing back discontinued items. The 2012 Cruise collection brought back multiple discontinued items, under which the Chantilly. The design of the Chantilly pretty much stayed the same, but instead of the original monogram canvas it was now available in Monogram Flore perforated. Which is identified by the holes in the material. This special edition design of the Chantilly came in multiple colors like; black, white, red, and blue. 

The newest Chantilly from the Sping/Summer 2018 collection - by BragmyBag

Redesign: Spring/Summer collection 2018

Another redesigned Chantilly made its way back to the runway in the Spring/Summer collection of 2018. Creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, brought back the original 80s design, but updated it to give it a more modern look. The new bag was released under the name: Chantilly Lock Bag. This new version isn’t made with the classic monogram canvas, but has the new Reversed Monogram print. It also has more leather details. Only the back, sides and the ‘flap’ of the bag have the monogram print. New as well, is the extra leather handle on top of the bag, which makes sure you can now carry the Chantilly by hand, on the shoulder or crossbody.

Of course, the redesigned bag isn’t named the ‘lock bag’ for nothing. The original front buckle is changed to be decorative, and is now longer than the bag itself. The center of the new strap is highlighted with an iconic Louis Vuitton padlock. The lock has a combination of gold and silver and really is the centerpiece of the bag! 

Find your Chantilly with us

The original Chantilly, as well as the redesigned Chantilly, are not available on the Louis Vuitton website anymore. This means you will only be able to get your hands on a Chantilly on the vintage market. Luckily for you, we most of the time have great Chantilly bags available. You can always check out our collection via this link, or send us a message for more information!

With love, Jessica

Sources:
Dictionary
Bragmybag
Yoogiscloset