For lovers of beautiful things the combination of Louis Vuitton and Singer, the Californian atelier renowned for its highly personalised restorations of classic Porsche 911s, is the stuff designer dreams are made of. Two of the world’s finest brands coming together to create the most elegant vehicles within their own styles, yet jointly.
At this year’s Monterey Car Week event the two companies, joined together with exclusive guests, to reveal two extraordinary cars. Automotive restorations born of the collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Singer emerged from a conversation with the Californian company – a visionary in the world of exceptional automobiles and renowned for its exacting approach to vehicle personalisation.
“This unique and remarkable adventure began with a request for a dashboard clock for a car reimagined by Singer. In addition to the design and production of this clock by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton workshops in Switzerland, it quickly became apparent to us that this collaboration with Singer could extend to the personalisation of every functional element of the vehicle, enhancing them through our expertise in leather craftsmanship and watchmaking,” shares Jean Arnault, Louis Vuitton Watch Director.
At the heart of the project lies a detachable, mechanical timepiece, which can be converted into a desk clock, and whose design is inspired by the iconic Tambour watch, recognisable by its distinctive shape and its twelve polished and engraved letters forming the name of the House on the bezel. Once integrated into the cockpit, it soon became clear that Louis Vuitton’s involvement could not be limited to this single timepiece. The redesign of the instrument display, a major technical and aesthetic challenge, then became essential to ensure absolute coherence within the interior.
What might seem trivial represented an entire year of relentless work. The House’s designers reimagined every detail, including the speedometer, rev counter and gauges, to ensure they adopted the iconic graphic codes of the Tambour line, particularly through their hands, terminations on the dials and index systems. The chosen design language speaks for itself: a vivid cobalt blue hue accented with bursts of bright orange for the lettering, striking a perfect balance between horological expertise and the rigorous demands of the automotive industry.
Inspired by Louis Vuitton’s philosophy around the Art of Travel, the project resulted in a vehicle being completely reimagined. This unique creative partnership marks a historic first for Louis Vuitton. The House is, for the very first time, creating a co-branded item, an equally unprecedented move for Singer.
“The aim was to create a true synthesis between Singer’s architectural and timeless language and the Louis Vuitton culture, characterised by refined materials, travel and expression of style,” explains Octave Chany, Project Lead Designer at Singer.
A Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic: Louis Vuitton’s most contemporary expression of the Art of Travel
For Louis Vuitton, the car transcends its role as a mere means of transport; it becomes an intimate world, an expression of personality and a pillar of the art of living. Louis Vuitton has chosen to express its vision in the form of a coupé reimagined through Singer’s Classic services, and a cabriolet reimagined through their Classic Turbo services, inspired by light and a nomadic spirit. Drawing on California’s ethos of freedom, these creations are deeply rooted in the House’s heritage and DNA, offering an experience in which the journey itself becomes a work of art in motion.
In its saffron and cobalt blue livery, the coupé is fitted with a specially designed roof rack, which can accommodate a trunk, a surfboard or a pair of skis, this Porsche 911 was reimagined by Singer to the specification envisioned by Louis Vuitton and immediately declares its purpose: this car has been designed for epic journeys.
The saffron shade, present in the House’s archives for over a century and a half and used across its packaging for more than twenty years, also resonates with Bahama Yellow, a hallmark hue closely associated with Singer’s earliest commissions. Notably, it has a particular connection with the automotive world, paying homage to the travel trunks designed for Citroën in 1924. These types of travel cases already featured cobalt blue interior reinforcements. This two-tone colour combination therefore embodies Louis Vuitton’s identity particularly well, as does the bright yellow thread used for the saddle-stitch seams on the brand’s leather goods and trunks.
Louis Vuitton has, naturally, adorned the interior of the car with its signature; the cabin is entirely upholstered in leather with a natural hue inspired by VVT leather, one of the House’s most utilised leathers. Used for the handles, shoulder straps, edging, and labels of the brand’s exceptional luggage and on its coated canvas bags, the leather is one of Louis Vuitton’s most iconic signatures.
The interior leatherworking was then executed by Singer’s team. Meticulous attention has been paid to every detail. The edges of the door handles feature the same edge-dyeing technique used on Louis Vuitton bags, while the stitching is executed in yellow thread. The diamond-patterned embossing on the seats and the front boot trim, as well as the engine compartment at the rear, echoes the “malletage” motif characteristic of the inside of Louis Vuitton trunks. To ensure comfort for the driver and passenger, the seats are fitted with ventilation eyelets. Each one crafted and finished by hand, they bear the iconic Louis Vuitton Monogram flower designs; a motif that also appears on the sun visor and headrests, echoing the windscreen.
This attention to detail has been the guiding principle for the artisans at Louis Vuitton and Singer. Every component of the vehicle embodies an aesthetic ambition rarely achieved in a contemporary automotive design. The plastic fittings found in a typical car interior have been replaced throughout by hand-crafted components made from premium, natural materials.
Adjustment knobs, control switches, locks, pull-tabs and air vents have thus been crafted in metal, predominantly rhodium-plated, using traditional artisanal techniques. Each component has been individually hand-finished using techniques comparable to those employed in the creation of a fine timepiece. The tactile sensations, as well as aspects such as reflections and the play of light, have been carefully considered and adapted, drawing on watchmaking savoir-faire in polishing and satin-finishing. The specific colours have been achieved through anodising or electroplating.
“With the creation of both cars, Louis Vuitton has, for the first time, drawn upon the full breadth of its savoir-faire, bringing together the expertise of every House métier in a unique and exclusive automotive project. Every department at Louis Vuitton has contributed to this unprecedented cross-disciplinary endeavour, from trunk makers and leather goods artisans to the fashion and footwear teams, and even the watchmakers from La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton,” highlights Jean Arnault.
To truly celebrate the Art of Travel, Louis Vuitton has dressed the classic car’s owner as carefully as it dressed the car. The pieces are cut from a Millésime leather echoing the cabin and finished in the car’s own saffron, cobalt and yellow, so the capsule reads as an extension of the interior rather than a wardrobe set beside it. The look includes a racing jacket, footwear, driving gloves and a jet helmet made of carbon and glass fibre, trimmed with calfskin leather and finished with a riveted peak.
The luggage is custom-fitted to the car. A 1950s-inspired helmet bag holds the bespoke helmet, its hardware tuned to the fuel cap’s shade. The Bisten, a direct descendant of the suitcases the House first catalogued in 1892, adorned with a blue handle and a name tag, keeps the wardrobe flat and crease-free. The Keepall, a House icon since 1930, packs a week’s wardrobe into the cabin, and a pair of front-trunk bags is shaped so the two sit perfectly in the nose of the car.
A Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic Turbo: where fashion meets automotive design
Once the design of the coupé was finalised, the creative collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Singer was strengthened and extended by another complementary project: the development of a turbocharged cabriolet under the visionary leadership of Nicolas Ghesquière, Artistic Director of Women’s Collections at Louis Vuitton. Featuring bodywork in white, subtly enhanced with touches of brown, it reveals an interior where leather and wood harmonise in a sophisticated tribute to the elegance of classic motorboats.
“Automotive design is a passion that has always lived within me. My collaboration with Singer has been a chance to reconnect with this fascinating world – a magnificent opportunity to explore truly exceptional automobiles,” shared Nicolas Ghesquière.
The Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic Turbo embodies Nicolas Ghesquière’s vision through his desire to blend two distinct worlds: the nautical and the automotive. This fusion directly reflects the designer’s approach, as he frequently incorporates contrasting worlds into his collections. The use of wood lends this cabriolet a unique and decidedly contemporary feel, much like Nicolas Ghesquière’s long-standing creative vision. The automobile, an inexhaustible source of inspiration, has been a recurring theme in his collections since he joined Louis Vuitton, as illustrated by the iconic photoshoot for his first campaign.
Working closely with the teams at Singer, Nicolas Ghesquière realised his vision for the ideal car: a vehicle open to the world, to nature and to the fullness of life, fostering direct contact with the sun and a profound sense of sensuality. The choice of a cabriolet was an obvious one. Right from the beginning of the project, he imagined it as the embodiment of the Louis Vuitton spirit: elegant, modern and assertive. The cabriolet is therefore as sensuous as it is powerful, combining sophisticated styling with exceptional prowess.
While the large rear spoiler, typical of turbocharged models, underscores its capabilities, the rear-opening luggage compartment stands as an impressive feat of engineering, revealing a teak-inspired wooden deck that extends the dialogue with the timeless beauty of motorboats. The colour scheme, combining an echo of Calcaire Lutétien – the white limestone that has shaped the Parisian landscape, including the House’s historic headquarters at Pont Neuf overlooking the Seine – with exquisite gold accents that adorn the car like subtle jewels, and the natural hues of the leather and wood, reflects Nicolas Ghesquière’s sense of refinement and a way of life intrinsically bound to the Louis Vuitton Art of Travel.
As with the coupé, every element of the vehicle, whether functional or decorative, has been reimagined by the teams at Louis Vuitton and Singer, with the same attention to the finest details, materials, savoir-faire and finishes. Each component is unique, integrating various wooden features, including the bumpers, which presented an additional challenge for the designers and engineers involved in this project.
The bespoke dashboard clock is not integrated into the instrumentation behind the steering wheel. Instead, it occupies the centre of the console, upholstered in natural leather, where warm golden gauges, a dial finished in the exact shade of the exterior bodywork and a matching golden ignition key create a seamless dialogue between the interior and exterior. The dashboard bears the Louis Vuitton signature, echoed after dark within the Tail Lamps, while a distinctive leather patch on the steering wheel—one of Nicolas Ghesquière’s signature details—subtly reinforces the House’s identity.
All functional elements are crafted in metal, with the same meticulous attention to finishes and surface treatments as the Classic car, in harmony with the precision of fine watchmaking. Beneath the dashboard clock, the gearshift trim evokes the silhouette of the Noé bag through its natural leather drawstring.
Behind the seats, upholstered in leather over a technical wooden shell, lies a luggage compartment developed specifically for the car’s unique form. It is crafted from varnished wood using the same technique employed for runabout decks. There is ample space for bespoke Louis Vuitton luggage fitted to the car, as well as for the lightweight soft top, which is itself inspired by the nautical world. Wood panelling also lines the rear engine compartment and the front boot, which houses a bespoke trunk composed of three cases that slot together to form storage compartments that are both highly functional and elegantly crafted. Leather fastening straps on the front and rear hoods, equipped with pin buckles, subtly recall references to motorsport, the traditions of trunk making and watch straps.
To enhance the driving experience of this exceptional turbocharged cabriolet, Nicolas Ghesquière has designed an exclusive capsule in which every piece answers to the car. It takes its cue from the cabriolet’s own register, the white bodywork, the wood, the gold worn like jewellery, so that what the driver carries and wears extends the car rather than accompanies it.
Time is kept in more than one place. The dashboard clock, already at the centre of the console, finds its echo on the wrist in the Tambour Automatic, a forty-millimetre piece in ceramic and yellow gold whose bracelet runs unbroken, without a visible pin. When neither is worn, both rest in the Coffret Tresor, first made by Georges Vuitton in 1896 and reissued here as a pair: one cradles the watch on its cushion, the other holds the dashboard timepiece ready to clip back beside the gear lever. A smaller case, dual-flapped and closed with a magnetic snap, carries the watch alone.
For the driver, a made-to-measure suit in parachute silk works the House’s second initial into raised, V-shaped seams rather than any badge, its zip pulls and snaps discreetly engraved. The driving gloves follow the hand in braided leather and a single hand-painted Monogram snap, echoing the wood that lines the cabin. The LV Sneakerina sits low and light underfoot, its signature read only in a cut-out at the side. Completing the look, sunglasses in gold and acetate hide a Monogram flower beneath one lens, augmented by a helmet in carbon, glass fibre and varnished cream, finished with a tan visor.
What the car carries is considered as closely as what the driver wears. A garment bag folds flat against the cabin with a hanger and name tag inside. The Alma softens into a travelling shape and the Express returns the malletage of a trunk lining to its interior, while the Noé carries the drawstring silhouette the gearshift borrows. The Cruiser is sized for little more than a pair of gloves and sunglasses, with a loop to hold its own handle open. The Petite Malle is cut from a wood that mirrors the vehicle’s finest details, drawing on a species whose warm hue resonates in perfect harmony with the car’s signature palette and the papers for a one-of-a-kind automobile travel in their own flat case.
The larger luggage is built to the car. The three-part trunk already fitted to the front boot lifts out as three individual cases when the journey calls for it, and the Keepall 45 wears a removable cover that doubles its protection and changes its face, the way a car waits beneath its own fitted sheet.
Indeed, since its inception in 1854, Louis Vuitton has been intrinsically linked to the world of travel and synonymous with developments in modes of transport. From the late 19th century onwards, the rise of the motor car became a breeding ground for innovation at the House, offering drivers an array of trunks, luggage and accessories designed to be as practical as they were refined.
The relationship between Louis Vuitton and the automotive world, characterised by creativity, modernity and a constant pursuit of excellence, has naturally fostered a close dialogue with Singer throughout the execution of both cars.
Photographs by Singer Vehicle Design.