The Goyard Personalization

Goyard is not only well known for hand stenciling monograms on its pieces, but also for adding personalized touches. In the days when trunks were outfitted for royalty, the family crest was emblazoned in full display with corresponding coloured stripes. This tradition is still upheld today by the House (for a nominal fee of course) with a modern twist. Crests are now replaced with motifs such as a seahorse or the limited edition skull, a collaboration with Mastermind Japan.


Interestingly enough, the crown motif seen below used to be readily available. Recently, Goyard mandated that one must show proof of a royal bloodline to obtain this personalization.

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The Goyard Monograms

Goyard is unique because they offer personalization of their products. This harkens back to services that were available when boat and train trunks practically look the same and can only be identified with one's initials. The Goyard Monograms come in a limited variety of fonts, sizes and colours. Anything can be emblazoned with your initials from the tiniest card case to the fabulous colourful atelier trunks. Service time is usually 2-3 months since they are sent out to be hand-painted. Of note though, the letters tend to peel especially if placed in an area where constant rubbing cannot be avoided.

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What's so special about the Goyard Canvas?

As mentioned before, the canvas has a three-dimensional chevron pattern that appears to be hand-painted on. The canvas itself is woven out of cotton, hemp and linen that is then coated with a gum arabic resin making the material resilient, lightweight and above all, waterproof! The pattern is then painstakingly impressed using a cadrette one colour at a time thus creating the 3D illustion.

The highly specialized technique employed in this process makes each piece unique. Counterfeits tend to be heavy and has a vinyl, plasticky odor. Since the dots are impressions of paint, you can actually feel the "bumps" as opposed to the smooth, shiny surface of printed fakes. This, also makes the print itself to be susceptible to peeling especially on the edges of bags.

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The Goyard Colours

One thing I love about Goyard is the selection of colours that the company offers. Currently they have (from the top left) Red, Burgundy, Green, Navy Blue, Light Blue, Yellow, Orange, White, Black with Black Trim and Black with Tan Trim. Back in the Spring of 2008, April to be exact, Goyard released the Pink collection. It came in a good number of handbags and small accesories. Gold and Silver finishes were also released but I couldn't find when. The colours of black with black trim, black with tan trim and red are considered classics and have a lower price point than the special colours.

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The Chevron

The fabric has a pattern of three Chevrons, juxtaposed to form the letter "Y". It came out in 1892 and evokes not only the name of the Maison itself, but also a tree; symbolizing three centuries of the Goyard family history and their “Compagnon de Rivière” ancestors. The dots that make up the Chevron are painstakingly hand-painted by artisans since the Maison refuses to use any sort of automation in the manufacturing process. No two pieces then are exactly alike and are guaranteed to be entirely unique.

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Histoire

La Maison Goyard was founded in 1853 by François Goyard (1828-1890), located on 233 rue Saint-Honoré. His son Edmond was born in 1860 who eventually took over his father's business, renaming the House, "E. Goyard Ainé", not only acknowledging Edmond but to honor his deceased grandfather, Edme.

Edmond Goyard participated in the Exposition Universelle et Internationale of Paris in 1900 where Goyard luggage won a bronze medal. In 1906, in Milan, it received a gold medal, and at the French-British Exposition of 1908 in London, it also won gold. Maison Goyard was given the Award of Honour at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs.

Goyard then opened a special department for cats, dogs and believe it or not, monkeys to provide bowls, harnesses, boots and even protective automobile glasses for them.

In 1923 on his 30th birthday and the 70th anniversary of the Maison, Edmond's son, Robert became the head with Edmond still being the creative director.

In 1936, Robert decided to enter into a cooperative agreement with the big "houses" in the Place Vendome, including Boucheron, Cartier, Charvet, Chaumet, Guerlain, Morgan andthe Ritz. Their offices were located at Goyard's headquarters at 233 rue Saint-Honoré.

In 1998, Maison Goyard was purchased by the Signoles family, and the company introduced several new colours at that time. Now, collector-turned-owner Jean-Michel Signoles isworking to revive the brand and restore its former glory. Photo from www.goyard.com

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