Louis Vuitton Alma BB, Epi

From a laundry bag to a city bag

The Alma's family tree starts with luggage. Around 1901 Louis Vuitton made the Steamer, which the house describes as the first soft, foldable bag designed to fit in the lower compartment of its Wardrobe Trunk on transatlantic crossings. It was meant for laundry. Accounts of the Alma's ancestry point to the Steamer's trapezoidal shape as the starting point.

The step from travel bag to handbag carries a story the house itself does not tell. According to fashion lore repeated in several published histories, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel asked Gaston-Louis Vuitton in 1925 for a dome-shaped bag for everyday use, and that one-off became the model for a bag sold to the public in 1934 with her blessing. Louis Vuitton's own timeline is plainer: the model was originally named the Squire Bag in 1934, went through design changes and the names Champs-Elysees and later Marceau, and became the Alma in 1992.

The 1992 relaunch put the shape into Monogram canvas and gave it the name it still carries, after the Place de l'Alma in Paris. One published history calls the 1990s a golden decade for iconic bags and says the Alma was offered as a more structured alternative to the soft Speedy. Louis Vuitton calls its lines Art Deco and says they have been reinterpreted for nearly a century.

Epi: the leather behind the ripples

Epi leather is what separates this Alma from the canvas versions most people picture. Louis Vuitton says it introduced Epi in 1985, drawing on a grained leather the house used in the 1920s, including on a 1926 tea case made for a maharajah. The leather is drum-dyed and embossed with the Epi motif, which the house describes as robust and scratch-resistant.

One reseller's guide describes the process in more detail: the leather is dyed, printed with a three-dimensional wave pattern and then given a color-matched top coat, which leaves a subtle tonal difference between the ridges and grooves. Each piece carries a small, discreet LV stamp. The same guide notes that the raised ridges can flatten with heavy use and that some older Epi, roughly from 2000 to 2008, is prone to fading.

Epi became a house signature quickly. In 1988 Louis Vuitton made its first trophy trunk for the America's Cup in blue Epi, and in 1992, the same year the Alma got its name, it made a red Epi trophy trunk for the Louis Vuitton Cup. The opening Epi palette in 1985, per the reseller's color list, included Black, Borneo Green, Kenyan Fawn, Toledo Blue and Winnipeg Sable.

2010: the Alma shrinks

The BB arrived in 2010, according to both Louis Vuitton and the published histories. It was the first Alma sold with a removable strap, which turned a hand-carried bag into a cross-body one. One history ties it to the broader turn toward small bags; another calls the BB the Alma's most popular size.

The Alma had already been reworked many times by then. Published histories list Monogram Vernis, Damier Ebene, a long run of Epi colors, the metallic Alma Miroir of 2006, and artist versions by Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama. A tiny Nano Alma in Epi was made only briefly and is described as hard to find.

Published sources disagree on the Alma BB's exact size. Louis Vuitton's current product page gives 9.3 x 6.9 x 4.5 inches. A 2022 history gives 23.5 x 17.5 cm, and resale listings measure 9 to 9.25 inches long and 7 to 7.25 inches high. Hand measurement explains some of the gap; this page uses the maker's figure.

How to read an Alma BB in Dragon Fruit

Louis Vuitton's current Epi Alma BB lists the features: Epi grained cowhide, smooth cowhide trim, microfiber lining, silver-color hardware, double zip closure, padlock, key bell, an inside flat pocket and four protective metal studs on the base. It weighs about 0.5 kg and its strap drops 19.7 to 24.4 inches.

Dragon Fruit is a bright pink. Dealer descriptions of individual bags match the maker's spec: one 2021 example has matching pink rolled leather handles, a leather clochette for keys, silver hardware and a pink microfiber interior with a flat pocket. Another listing, for a bag made in 2020, describes silver-tone hardware, a pink microfiber interior with one card slot, and a box, clochette, lock, key and removable strap.

A 2022 example offered in Europe came with a jacquard shoulder strap and a reference number of M45346, and lists its date code as a chip rather than a printed code. Complete sets matter to buyers: one 2021 bag was offered without its strap, a fact the seller listed as a condition note.

The entry's year is listed as 'current', but Louis Vuitton's US site on October 1, 2026, showed the Epi Alma BB in Black, reference M24645, at $2,210. Dragon Fruit examples on the resale market date from 2020 to 2022 by their listings. Whether Dragon Fruit is still in production was not confirmed.

Retail and resale

A dealer listing for a pre-owned 2020 Dragon Fruit Alma BB in very good condition gave its original retail price as $2,370 and asked $1,850 on October 1, 2026. Its condition notes mention mild corner scuffing and light scratching on the base studs.

A European dealer offered a like-new 2022 example at 1,950 euros, and a 2021 bag in excellent condition was listed as sold out by a US reseller. No auction result for a Dragon Fruit Alma BB was found.

Why the shape lasts

Louis Vuitton's own summary of the Alma is that its Art Deco lines have been reinterpreted for nearly a century. Its 1992 debut put the shape in Monogram canvas, the pattern Georges Vuitton designed in 1896 in tribute to his father, and Epi gave it a scratch-resistant leather version known for vibrant colors.

The Alma has outlasted its own names. The Squire, the Champs-Elysees and the Marceau are gone; the Alma, in the house's words, became the Alma in 1992 and grew a BB format in 2010. The 2023 autumn season alone added Broderie Anglaise, Malletage and Monopaname versions of the BB, according to a 2023 history.

The numbers

Dimensions

9.3 x 6.9 x 4.5 in (length x height x width), per Louis Vuitton

Material

Epi grained cowhide leather with smooth cowhide trim; microfiber lining

Hardware

Silver-color; padlock with keys, key bell, four metal base studs

Weight

About 0.5 kg

Strap drop

19.7 in, up to 24.4 in

Reference

M45346 (a 2022 Dragon Fruit example with jacquard strap); M24645 (current Black)

Production quantity

Not published

Timeline

1. 1854

   Louis Vuitton opens his first store at 4 Rue Neuve-des-Capucines in Paris.

2. 1896

   Georges Vuitton designs the Monogram canvas in tribute to his father.

3. 1901

   The Steamer, a soft laundry bag for transatlantic travel, appears; histories trace the Alma's shape to it.

4. 1925

   According to fashion lore, Coco Chanel commissions a bespoke dome-shaped bag from Gaston-Louis Vuitton.

5. 1926

   A grained leather is used on a tea case for a maharajah; Louis Vuitton cites it as an inspiration for Epi.

6. 1934

   The model is released as the Squire Bag.

7. 1955

   A slimmer version called the Champs-Elysees is introduced, according to published histories.

8. 1985

   Louis Vuitton introduces Epi leather as a line.

9. 1988

   The house makes its first America's Cup trophy trunk in blue Epi.

10. 1992

    The bag is relaunched in Monogram canvas and named the Alma, after the Place de l'Alma.

11. 1992

    A red Epi trophy trunk is made for the Louis Vuitton Cup.

12. 2006

    The metallic Alma Miroir debuts.

13. 2010

    The Alma BB is introduced, the first Alma with a removable strap.

14. 2020

    Year of manufacture of a Dragon Fruit Epi Alma BB later listed for resale.

15. 2022

    Year of manufacture of a Dragon Fruit Alma BB with a jacquard strap, reference M45346.

16. Oct 1, 2026

    A pre-owned 2020 Dragon Fruit Alma BB is listed at $1,850; the Black Epi Alma BB retails at $2,210 in the US.

The world in 1992

• Feb 1, 1992

  Presidents George Bush and Boris Yeltsin formally declare the Cold War over at Camp David.

• Feb 7, 1992

  The Maastricht Treaty is signed, founding the European Union.

• Feb 8, 1992

  The Winter Olympics open in Albertville, France.

• Apr 20, 1992

  The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley is televised to over one billion people.

• Jul 25, 1992

  The Summer Olympics open in Barcelona.

• Nov 3, 1992

  Bill Clinton wins the US presidential election.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Louis Vuitton Alma BB, Epi is number 78 of 100 in the handbags entries of the FLOAT 100. 19 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (47 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Before it was the Alma, the bag was sold as the Squire, the Champs-Elysees and the Marceau.
• Louis Vuitton's Epi leather was inspired in part by a grained leather used on a 1926 tea case made for a maharajah.
• The year the Alma got its name, 1992, Louis Vuitton also made a red Epi leather trophy trunk for the Louis Vuitton Cup.
• The pattern most Almas wear was called simply 'L.V. canvas' until 1986, when the house renamed it Monogram canvas.
• The Alma BB, introduced in 2010, was the first Alma sold with a removable strap.
• A Nano Alma in Epi was released only briefly and is described as a rare find.