Early years The House of Moynat was the result of a meeting between Pauline Moynat, who sold travel goods in the Opera district of
Paris, and the Coulembier family, manufacturers from the
faubourgs—the inner suburbs to the north of the city. In 1849, the trunk makers opened their first atelier. They joined with Pauline Moynat to open the Moynat boutique in 1869 on what was then the Place du Théâtre Français (now the Place André Malraux), opposite the famous
Comédie-Française. The boutique was situated at the center of
Haussmann's redesigned Paris. Following the construction of the
Avenue de l'Opéra in 1876, it took pride of place at path number 1. File:DiligenceMoynatWeb.jpg|A Moynat horse cart, 1880 File:PhotoBoutiqueWeb.jpg|The first Moynat Boutique Avenue de l'Opéra in 1869 File:PhotoBoutiqueInterieurAWeb.jpg|Interior of the Moynat Boutique, 1907
1905–1976 Collaboration with Henri Rapin In 1889, Jules Coulembier created a new system of lightweight trunks, followed in 1910 by the invention of an extra-light model. The House of Moynat also produced a series of security mechanisms for its trunks. was appointed jury member at the
Turin exhibition in 1911 and was awarded two gold medals and two special prizes at
Ghent in 1913. In 1925, Moynat broke the record at the
Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels, where its automobile trunks were awarded a
Diplôme d’Honneur by its peers together with gold, silver and bronze medals.
1989–present Orcofi, the
Vuitton family's holding company, bought Malles et Voyages in 1989, following the disposal of the bulk of its shares in
LVMH. Orcofi's CEO,
Vuitton's former President
Henry Racamier (1912–2003), had planned to relaunch Moynat as a competitor to
Louis Vuitton. However, Orcofi was eventually sold to
AXA in 1996. Luxury goods holding company,
Luvanis SA, bought the rights into Moynat in the late 2000s, developed a revival plan and assigned the brand to
Groupe Arnault.
LVMH CEO
Bernard Arnault's holding company bought Moynat in 2010. The relaunch was led by CEO Guillaume Davin, with former
Hermès designer
Ramesh Nair appointed as Artistic Director. In December 2011, Moynat reopened with a store at 348
Rue Saint-Honoré, followed by shops in London in 2014, Hong Kong, Beijing in 2015, Tokyo, New York, Seoul, Taipei in 2016, Singapore in 2017 and Dubai in 2018. Nicholas Knightly was hired as its new creative director in November of 2022. In December 2022,
Pharrell Williams partnered on the launch of a bag in collaboration with Moynat. In 2023, Moynat scheduled a world tour, the Moynat World Tour.''''' It consists of a roving pop-up. The tour also celebrated and coincided with the 103rd anniversary of Moynats Toile 1920 M, the canvas that is used for their made-to-order luggage. ==See also==