by Leonore Dicker
 
French luxury leather goods brand Longchamp, which was founded in Paris in 1948, has always enjoyed promoting the arts. Ever since its debut, the label’s iconic Le Pliage bag alone has been the ideal canvas for renowned artists.
 
Everyone, from award-winning designer Thomas Heatherwick to conceptual artist Tracey Emin, was inspired by Le Pliage. To celebrate the bag’s 20^th anniversary last year, Longchamp’s creative director Sophie Delafontaine even collaborated with Sarah Morris – who transferred three original artworks onto Longchamp pieces.
 
World-famous designers Jeremy Scott and Mary Katrantzou also weren’t spared. Scott has been stamping Longchamp travel bags with playful imagery, like Humpty Dumpty, ever since 2006 while Katrantzou has more recently been toying with hued prints.
 
The global brand –which has even summoned artists to give a makeover to some of its key stores, including the Madison Avenue boutique in New York– has got plenty more art collaborations in store for us.