From selling leather-wrapped pipes to a world famous brand: The Longchamp brand and its story

In 1948, Jean Cassegrain took over his father's traditional tobacco business in Paris, "Au Sultan". After the Second World War, Cassegrain supplied tobacco and smoking accessories to the needs of the Allied troops, an international military coalition, and gradually became the store's top customers. Also, pipe sales were the most profitable part of the business.

Leaving Paris at the end of the conflict, Cassegrain diversified his products in the store. In the 1950s, he began selling the world's first luxury leather-wrapped pipes with exotic leathers. These were accessories loved by internationally famous people like Elvis Presley. He then founded his company, 'Jean Cassegrain et compagnie', to expand the distribution of his leather-covered goods to smokers. However, he decided to market his products under another name. The reason was that distant relatives had already used the surname Cassegrain to sell quality paper in Paris. Thus, he gave his brand the name of the Paris "Longchamp Racecourse".

At that time there was a flour mill visible at the end of the last stage of Longchamp Racecourse. He decided to rename the Cassegrain brand and company after the racecourse as a nod to the flour mill. Because the name 'Cassegrain' literally means 'crushed grain' in French, that is, the miller. For this reason, the brand's logo was chosen as a jockey on a galloping racehorse.

Longchamp's success in selling leather-covered pipes surprised Cassegrain. This success convinced him to further develop the company's product range in the future. He considered diversifying and expanding his product range to include small leather goods, passport covers, wallets, bags and all other leather accessories for men.

By the early 1950s Cassegrain was already researching and selling its products on all continents. Moreover, he started to export his products by hiring an export manager. Cassegrain and his son, Philippe Cassegrain, were concerned with expanding and advancing the company's markets, businesses, revenues and opportunities. In the 1950s and 1960s, the brand's products continued to be recognized in French cinema, particularly in Jean Gabin's films.

The brand's association with art continued in the 1970s when it launched a limited edition line of bags designed by renowned French-Russian artist Serge Mendjisky. In 1971, a new design was achieved by adding leather patchwork to the bags. With this design, the brand managed to become one of the first leather goods brands to enter the world of collaboration with famous artists. Since then, the brand has continued to work with other artists on designing specials and in-store arrangements. The brand opened stores in Southeast Asia in the late 1970s. In addition, it became one of the first European brands to be sold in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

Longchamp has grown into a big business known worldwide. The company's breakthrough came with the use of nylon in the 1970s as the first company to make bags from nylon. The brand produced a collection of leather and nylon suitcases that allowed for light luggage, in stark contrast to the overweight suitcases typically sold at the time. This innovation led the brand to design a women's bag of the same design called 'Le Pliage' a few decades later.

His son, Philippe Cassegrain, designed khaki nylon and leather bags in the 1970s. This collection was produced as an alternative to carrying heavy luggage and was a huge success. He also invented the "Xtra-Bag", a bag that folds up to a quarter of its size and slides into a simple bag. The Xtra-bag was the precursor to the Le Pliage women's handbag.

As the business expanded and progressed, Cassegrain realized that women were beginning to take a keen interest in bags. The brand made its first women's handbag in 1971 by reworking a toiletry bag and adding a shoulder strap and two flaps to it. From that moment on, the company began to concentrate and advance on luggage and women's handbags.

In 1978 the brand announced the 'LM' line, the first women's handbag collection. The bags were made of printed leather and the products for smokers were removed from the catalog in the same year.

In 1983, his son Philippe became CEO of Longchamp and brought in his wife Michèle to head the retail side. In 1991, Jean, the eldest son of Philippe and Michèle, also started working for his father. Then their daughter Sophie became the company's artistic director. Thus, the company turned into a family business.

1993 marked a turning point in Longchamp's history. In 1993, Philippe, CEO of Longchamp, personally designed what would become the company's most famous handbag. The name of the design was "Le Pliage", which means "fold" in French. Philippe wanted to design a practical yet stylish folding bag. Le Pliage was a folding women's handbag model in the form of a distinctive trapezoid, evoking the image of an envelope. Since Philippe wanted the bag to be very light, Russia designed the leather handles with a nylon canvas body. The purse's simple shape, wide range of colors and styles have made it the brand's most successful product, as well as one of the most popular handbags in the world.

The brand signed its first collaboration with independent designer Thomas Heatherwick in 2004. Heatherwick first designed the best-selling "Zip Bag" model. The design was a handbag made of a long zipper. The success of the design also led Heatherwick to design Longchamp's New York City flagship store.

Philippe collaborated with renowned designers and artists such as Tracey Emin, Mary Katrantzou, Jeremy Scott and Sarah Morris to reinterpret the brand's hit bag collection. In 2004 and 2005, Tracey Emin personalized the suitcase for the brand. Tracey Emin designed a patchwork Longchamp bag with "Always Me" written on it. Since 2005, Jeremy Scott has regularly made special editions of the "Le Pliage" bag and designed other bag collections each year.

Between 2005 and 2015, Jeremy Scott designed 20 styles of bags for the brand. Every year, he took one of his pop culture-infused designs and used it to give Longchamp's Le Pliage a fresh look. Bag designs from the past 10 years have included a poodle in space, zodiac signs, credit card and tire tracks.

The company re-released the 'LM' collection in 2008 and was presented in a redesigned version by Jean-Luc Moerman. Kate Moss collaborated with the brand to design the handbags. The top model worked with the brand's art director, Sophie Delafontaine, to design bags under the "Kate Moss for Longchamp" label. In 2010, it launched a complete line of products based on the use of its own handbag. The collection consisted of 12 different bags and the bags were named after her favorite places in London. These; Soho, Ladbroke, Goldbourne, Gloucester, Glastonbury.

In 2011, the brand collaborated with designer Mary Katrantzou to produce a range of printed tote bags. The designed bags had bold colors and wild designs inspired by temples and flower ceremonies in Vietnam. In 2012, the designer designed two more handbags with special reprints. The large carrying bags designed were decorated with orchids, dragons and corals. She decorated the small bags with both colorful flowers and lanterns. In addition, Katrantzou designed a Le Pliage handbag featuring orchids and lanterns.

In 2014, the brand collaborated with artist Sarah Morris to design a limited edition Le Pliage handbag. The brand held its first fashion show in New York in September 2018 to celebrate its 70th anniversary. Celebrities present at the fashion show included Kendall Jenner, Kate Moss, Kaia Gerber and Isabelle Huppert. In 2018, the brand collaborated with Shayne Oliver, founder of New York-based streetwear Hood By Air, to design and develop an exclusive capsule collection of leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear and garment bags for the SS18. 

Kendall Jenner was named ambassador of the brand in April 2018 and appeared in the short film "The Encounter", which was selected for the brand in May 2018, directed by John Christopher Pina. In February 2019, the brand announced its fall-winter 2019 collection at a new show on Wall Street in New York. In August 2020, it started selling the "Green District", its first line of bags designed from recycled nylon fiber "Econyl".

The brand is currently run by direct descendants of founder Jean Cassegrain, who is the 3rd generation of the family. In addition, the brand is known to be worth 1.5 billion dollars. The company's independence not only provides stability to the Cassegrain family, but also allows them to think and plan for the long term. Additionally, the store is one of the last manufacturers of leather goods.

The brand has store presence in 80 countries including Brazil, Israel, Abu Dhabi, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Canada, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Austria, Macau, Cambodia, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur. It also plans to expand its network in the Middle East region, focusing on Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In addition, the company has franchises in Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia.

In 2018, the company had 1,500 points of sale worldwide, 300 of which were registered stores. A total of 3,200 people work for the brand worldwide through company-owned boutiques and franchises, department store concessions, multi-brand fine leather goods dealers, airport stores, distribution subsidiaries and online sales.