Maison Goyard

General information

*Origin
From the Houses of Martin and Morel to the House of Goyard: a legacy of excellence

Pierre-François Martin founded the House of Martin in 1792. It specialized in box-making, trunk-making and packing, at a time whenthe golden age of the great trunk-makers of the late XIXth century was yet to come. Martin’s trade had more to do with the delicate art of garment folding and packing than with that of container making, as evidenced by his ad campaign, which stressed that "Maison Martin sells an assortment of boxes and cases; it provides quality packing services for fragile furniture and objects, as well as hats, gowns and flowers; it uses oiled canvas, plain canvas and straw for packing; manufacturer of horse carriage trunks and coat racks, it also supplies oilcloth and waterproof canvas, all at a fair price."
The house of Martin quickly became a favourite with the French aristocracy, and was eventually granted the prestigious tittle of official purveyor of HRH Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Siciles, Duchess of Berry. In 1834, the House of Martin moved its store from 4, rue Neuve des Capucines to 347, rue Saint-Honoré. Even though the postal address changed to 233, rue Saint-Honoré in 1856 on account of a new street numbering system, its location has remained the same ever since.
Pierre François Martin was the guardian of a young female ward, Pauline. He arranged her marriage to one of his employees, Louis-Henri Morel, and gave his business as her dowry. Morel followed in Martin’s footsteps, and introduced himself as the « Successor to former Maison Morel, located on rue Neuve-des-Capucines, near Place Vendôme ».

In 1845, Morel hired François Goyard as an apprentice. The 17-year old boy received training under the guidance of both Martin and Morel. When Morel died suddenly in 1852, François took over, and remained for 32 years at the helm of a house he took to a whole new level. He finally handed over the reins to his son Edmond in 1885.

*The House
A family business

Drawing on his father François’ work, Edmond Goyard turned the store on rue Saint-Honoré into an increasingly elitist institution with an international clientele. He created the first Goyard advertisements, participated in various World Expositions and opened three branch stores in Monte-Carlo, Biarritz, Bordeaux, as well as trade offices in New York and London, the latter located on Mount Street, like today’s Goyard Mayfair boutique. He also laid the foundations for the brand as we know it today, as he came up with the emblematic Goyardine canvas, launched a pet accessories range and developed products for automobiles.
One of the first things François Goyard did when he took over from Morel was to open state-of-the-art workshops, as he believed having complete control over manufacturing processes was key to achieve excellence. An opinion shared by Jean-Michel Signoles when he bought Goyard in 1998. A keen collector and connoisseur of all things Goyard, he also opened new workshops with the help of his sons: Alex is in charge of special orders, trunk-making and soft-bag manufacturing; Rémy deals with personalization and Pierre takes care of canvas printing. Of course, the contemporary Goyard workshops are more spacious, functional and altogether a lot different from those of yesterday, but the know-how and passion of the artisans remain the same.
Without the backing of a leading group, and with complete disregard for marketing or mass-production, the Signoles family revived Goyard’s heritage and skills and opened new boutiques across Europe, the Americas and Asia. Within a decade, they restored Goyard to its original glory, and firmly re-established it as a beacon of timeless elegance, craftsmanship and exclusivity.

*A prestigious clientele
Goyard, the preferred choice of connoisseurs

Since its doors first opened in 1853, Goyard has been a favourite with celebrities, and many illustrious artists, captains of industry, heads of state or royals have sported its creations. The names of the leading personalities of the 19th and 20th century are to be found in Goyard’s filing cabinet, which keeps track of each and every order placed by customers through a system of nominal index cards.
Upon reading the files, one may daydream easily about the extraordinary and not so unlikely encounters that could have taken place at 233, rue Saint-Honoré: Pablo Picasso and Sacha Guitry, the Maharadjah of Kapurthala and Jacques Cartier, the Agnellis and the Rockefellers, the Romanovs and the Grimaldis, Estée Lauder and Barbara Hutton, Mrs Pompidou and the Princess Aga Khan, Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin, Romy Schneider and Sarah Bernhardt, Edith Piaf and Arthur Rubinstein, Cristobal Balenciaga and Karl Lagerfeld…
The latter, whose account was open in 1972, is highly emblematic of Goyard’s unique ability to build long-term relationships with its clientele, whether they are famous or anonymous. It is not uncommon for Goyard customers to have accounts active for decades: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s opened theirs in 1939, and it was closed only after the demise of the Duchess in 1986.

*The Goyard Art Book
A reference publication

In collaboration with Devambez Publishing, Goyard published in 2010 an art book dedicated to its history. The result of extensive, in-depth research, it is regarded by many as the reference publication not just upon Goyard, but also all Parisian trunk-makers, and was hailed as a “Luxury Bible” by authoritative fashion critic Suzy Menkes in an article called "A Tender Tome of Art and Heart" that she published in the New York Times on June 15, 2010.

This outstanding monograph celebrates the golden era of ocean-liners, horse-drawn carriages and legendary trains when travelling in style was de rigueur. It had a print run of 233 copies, a reference to the address of the Goyard historic store, located at 233 rue Saint Honoré since 1834. It is printed on watermarked deckled vellum paper custom-made by Arches, France’s most renowned papermakers. Traditional lead letterheads techniques were used for the texts. It will never be published again and is visible by appointment only.

Copies are numbered from 1 to 233, and that number is specified both in the book and on the special, entirely hand-made trunk that is used as a showcase for the book. Each individual purchaser is invited to make their named copy into an even more unique piece by picking the colour for the trunk Goyardine canvas, and have it initialled or adorned with stripes.

* The fabric
The Goyardine, an iconic canvas

The Goyards originate from the village of Clamecy in Burgundy, where the family males traditionally worked as log drivers. They were members of the Compagnons de Rivière (French for “The Companions of the river”), a guild of transporters that moved firewood by inland waterways from the forests of Morvan to Paris. When Edmond Goyard created the Goyardine canvas in 1892, he was inspired by his family history: the piled up dot pattern clearly hints at logs driven by his ancestors, and, although its appearance is similar to leather, the Goyardine is made with the same natural coated cloth mixing hemp, linen and cotton that the Compagnons de Rivières used for their garments. At once hard-wearing, soft and waterproof, the Goyardine proved a true technical revolution at a time when other trunk-makers were using plain linen cloth.

Like all family secrets, the exact manufacturing process of the Goyardine remains strictly confidential. Though it was originally hand-painted, the current process requires a ground-colour application, followed by three successive layers of etching colours that create its trademark slightly raised pattern. Moreover, the Goyardine increases in beauty with age. The production of the Goyardine stopped after WWII, and was only resumed when Jean-Michel Signoles took over in 1998. He also decided to introduce new colours in addition to the historic black shade: red, orange, yellow, green, sky-blue, navy-blue, burgundy, grey and white are now available for all pieces, silver and gold being also available for hard-sided luggage only. A special, limited edition pink Goyardine was also produced in 2008, and pieces in that colour have fast become collector’s items.

*Special orders
Unique creations testifying to a unique know-how

Each special order by Goyard is born out of the meeting of our artisans’ skills and the wishes of a customer. By continuing a long-standing tradition of bespoke trunks and luggage that has earned its reputation, the House of Goyard ensures the continuation of exceptional craftsmanship in all its excellence and refinement.

These unique pieces are the ultimate in exclusivity, as they are especially designed to meet the requirements of one person, and one person only. Each of them is entirely hand made by a same trunk maker, according to the highest, strictest standards. When the crafting process is over, the trunk maker writes down the serial number of the piece they made on its identification tag, along with their initials. They also write down that same serial number in the manufacturing register that keeps track of all items made in the Goyard workshops. The manufacturing register is used as a reference in the event an item needs to be repaired.

Champagne trunk, tea trunk, polo trunk, caviar trunk, bicycle trunk, gardening trunk, fishing trunk, picnic trunk, everything is possible, from the classical to the extravagant, and each customer’s imagination is the only limit, as exemplified by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary trunk, which included a fully-equipped office, or Alain Ducasse’s state-of-the-art culinary trunk.

*Vintage trunks
The Goyard collection

Jean-Michel Signoles came across a vintage Goyard trunk for the very first time in 1974 in an Antique shop in Paris, and immediately bought it. His initial curiosity soon turned into a passion for a brand whose history and identity he gradually got to know very well.

Through auctions and chance encounters with other Goyard lovers, he steadily purchased more vintage trunks, and the collection now features over 700 pieces encompassing every chapter of the history of Goyard. Beyond its heritage interest, such a collection is first and foremost a vibrant tribute paid to a unique wealth of renewed creativity and skills passed on from generation to generation, and a never-ending source of inspiration for Goyard’s new creations.

The constantly expanding collection includes exceptional trunks custom-made by Goyard for the likes of Coco Chanel or HRH the Duke of Windsor, as well as many other pieces that are aesthetically and technically equally remarkable, even though they used to belong to less famous customers. Although the collection is not visible to the general public, some of them are regularly used to create window displays, or to decorate the reception rooms of the Goyard headquarters on Place Vendôme.

*Luggage personalization
The art of customization by Goyard

Luggage personalization stems from Europe’s heraldic traditions and had its heyday in the 19th century. Back then, it was a practical imperative that had nothing to do with fashion or status, but pursued the sole purpose of determining easily the legitimate owner of a trunk. A most pressing issue given the lavish traveling habits of the wealthy, which included tons of identical-looking luggage, and were nothing short of a logistical nightmare. Customs vary from country to country, and names, stripes, initials or numbers are used to differentiate luggage. For instance, in France, tradition dictates that a piece of luggage should be monogrammed with the initials of its owner, whereas in the UK, it is customary to use the owner’s full first and last names.

Goyard perpetuates the tradition of personalization according to the highest standards: all monograms are hand-painted with exclusive paints made with strictly natural pigments, thus allowing for versatility and elegance. Thanks to a large choice of designs and fonts coming in a wide range of shades, each customer can make their Goyard unique and express their individuality.

*Chic du chien
Like master, like dog

In 1890, Robert Goyard started developing the “Chic du Chien” (“Canine Chic”) range. As proclaimed by innovative and playful advertising campaigns imagined by the greatest illustrators of the time, such as Pierre Falize, Mich or Benjamin Barbier, “The chicest dogs wear Goyard”. Four-legged dandies dressed up in serge or velvet overcoats, and sported driving glasses, boots, ruffle-neck collars and fancy leashes. Especially designed wardrobe trunks were also available. Other pets were not forgotten: cats had their own grooming kits and travel bags, and even monkeys -which were all the rage during the Belle Époque- had their dedicated line of accessories.
Goyard has kept this tradition alive and opened in 2008 a boutique devoted to “Le Chic du Chien” at 352, rue Saint-Honoré, right across the street from its historic flagship store. The boutique’s intimate and warm atmosphere makes it the perfect setting for whimsical and sophisticated in-store displays showcasing dog collars and leashes like precious jewels. In addition to pet accessories, connoisseurs will also find a selection of curios and rare pieces.
Over a century after its creation, the Chic du Chien enjoys unwavering success, and items initially devised for pets have become very popular with their masters, such as the Hulot: although this bag named after Robert Goyard’s beloved dog was designed to carry small-sized animals, it has become a hit with stylish women.