FLOAT 100 · Handbags · No. 41
Louis Vuitton Capucines MM
The everyday size of Louis Vuitton's quiet leather flagship is a bag with almost no logo, named for the Paris street where an orphaned trunk maker from the Jura opened his first shop in 1854.
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- Maker
- Louis Vuitton
- By price in handbags
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- Louis Vuitton, Paris
- Model
- Capucines MM, the largest of the three core sizes (Mini, BB, MM)
- Introduced
- 2013, according to Louis Vuitton
- Named for
- Rue Neuve-des-Capucines, near the Place Vendome, where Louis Vuitton opened for business in 1854
- Leather
- Full-grain Taurillon calfskin, Taurillon trim, cowhide lining
- Size
- 12.2 x 7.9 x 4.3 inches (about 31 x 20 x 11 cm)
- Hardware
- Gold-color on the current Black MM (M24727)
- US retail
- $7,450, per a published price list updated in 2026
- Recent ask
- $3,200 for a pre-owned black MM in very good condition, on hold October 1, 2026
Named for the first shop
Louis Vuitton's description of the Capucines MM is direct: it is named for the Rue des Capucines in Paris, where Louis Vuitton opened for business in 1854, and it was first introduced in 2013. The street was then called the Rue Neuve-des-Capucines and runs beside the Place Vendome. One fashion magazine gives the shop's address as number 4 and places it amid Baron Haussmann's rebuilding of Paris.
Most accounts agree on 2013, and a 2021 review places the launch in the Autumn-Winter 2013 season. One price guide says Fall 2013 in its text but Fall 2012 in its summary table. This page follows the maker's date.
For a house known for printed Monogram canvas, the Capucines was a deliberate step sideways: an all-leather bag whose only Monogram reference is a single metal flower on the flap. A reviewer in 2021 called it a certified Louis Vuitton classic less than a decade after its debut, and Louis Vuitton now gives it its own story page, fronted by house ambassadors Hoyeon and Emma Stone.
From the Jura to the Place Vendome
Louis Vuitton was born in 1821 in the Jura, in eastern France, to a family of artisans and farmers. His mother died when he was 10, and his father soon after. In 1835, at 13, he left home and traveled about 292 miles to Paris, where from 1837 he apprenticed with a trunk maker named Marechal.
He built a reputation among the Paris elite and was appointed personal trunk maker to Empress Eugenie. In 1854, at 33, he married Clemence-Emilie Parriaux and opened his own business. Four years later he introduced flat-topped canvas trunks that could be stacked, unlike the rounded trunks of competitors, and he expanded to a workshop at Asnieres-sur-Seine, where he died on February 27, 1892.
His son Georges introduced the Monogram canvas in 1896, drawing on Japanese family crests. The Capucines carries small reminders of both men. Louis Vuitton says the jewel-like handle mounts are inspired by historic trunks; a fashion magazine notes that the brass nail heads on the handle rings recall Georges Vuitton's luggage and that the four base studs evoke trunk making.
2013
The Capucines appeared in a transition year for the house. Marc Jacobs, artistic director since 1997 and the man who launched Louis Vuitton's first ready-to-wear in 1998, left in 2013. Nicolas Ghesquiere took over that November. Louis Vuitton had been part of LVMH since its 1987 merger with Moet Hennessy.
Elsewhere that year, Pope Benedict XVI resigned and Pope Francis was elected, bombs at the Boston Marathon killed three people, Edward Snowden disclosed US surveillance programs, Croatia joined the European Union, and Nelson Mandela died at 95.
How to read a Capucines MM
The current US Capucines MM measures 12.2 x 7.9 x 4.3 inches (length x height x width), against 10.6 x 6.8 x 3.5 inches for the BB and 8.3 x 5.4 x 3.1 inches for the Mini. A 2021 review gave the MM as 31.5 x 20 x 11 cm. A pre-owned example measured by its seller came out at 12.25 x 7.75 x 4.25 inches.
It is built from full-grain Taurillon leather with Taurillon trim and a cowhide lining. The flap can be worn outside to reveal a Monogram Flower or inside to show the leather-wrapped LV Initials. Inside are two compartments with one zipped pocket and one flat pocket, and four metal studs protect the base. It has a single handle and a removable, adjustable strap with a 17.9-inch drop, extending to 20.9 inches. Louis Vuitton says it fits two smartphones, a vertical wallet, earphones, a small make-up bag and keys; the make-up bag is the practical difference from the BB, whose list ends with keys and a lipstick.
The current Black MM is reference M24727 with gold-color hardware; one price guide lists M24745 and M24654 as other current MM references. Louis Vuitton says the bag may be made in France, Spain, Italy or the United States, from leather supplied by tanneries certified by the Leather Working Group. Taurillon is tanned and drum-treated and develops a patina with use.
Newer bags are identified by an embedded microchip rather than a stamped date code. The resale MM noted on this page was listed with its NFC chip scanned and a third-party authentication certificate.
Artists take on the Capucines
In 2019 the Capucines became the base for Artycapucines, a series in which Louis Vuitton invited six artists, Sam Falls, Urs Fischer, Nicholas Hlobo, Alex Israel, Tschabalala Self and Jonas Wood, to rework the bag. Results ranged from Self's collaged turquoise satchel to Israel's wave-painted bag with surfboard fins that double as a comb and mirror and Fischer's bag hung with fruit charms.
Each design was a numbered edition limited to 300 pieces, priced at $8,600, and on sale from June 25, 2019. They launched alongside the Louis Vuitton X exhibition at 468 North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, open free from June 28 to September 15, 2019. Six more artists followed in 2020.
Retail and resale
Louis Vuitton does not publish an online price for the Capucines MM; the US site lists it as available only by phone and in stores. A price list updated in 2026 gives US retail of $7,450 for the MM, 6,400 euros in Europe. The same publisher reports that the Capucines PM went from $5,600 to $7,450 in an earlier increase. A resale listing for a black MM separately described its retail as $7,550; the two figures do not match.
Pre-owned bags sell well below retail. On October 1, 2026, a black Taurillon Capucines MM with gold hardware and a pink leather interior, in very good condition with light corner and edge wear, was listed at $3,200 and marked on hold. That is an asking price, not a completed sale.
The numbers
- Dimensions
- 12.2 x 7.9 x 4.3 in (length x height x width); about 31 x 20 x 11 cm
- Material
- Full-grain Taurillon leather, Taurillon trim, cowhide lining
- Hardware
- Gold-color; four protective metal base studs
- Strap drop
- 17.9 in, up to 20.9 in
- Reference
- M24727 (Black)
- Production quantity
- Not published for the standard line; Artycapucines editions were limited to 300 per artist
Timeline
Louis Vuitton is born in the Jura, France.
Vuitton, 13, leaves home and travels about 292 miles to Paris.
He begins an apprenticeship with the trunk maker Marechal.
Vuitton opens his business on the Rue Neuve-des-Capucines near the Place Vendome.
He introduces flat-topped, stackable canvas trunks.
Louis Vuitton dies at Asnieres-sur-Seine.
Georges Vuitton launches the Monogram canvas.
Louis Vuitton merges with Moet Hennessy to form LVMH.
The Capucines is introduced, according to Louis Vuitton.
Nicolas Ghesquiere replaces Marc Jacobs as artistic director.
Six Artycapucines designs go on sale, 300 numbered pieces each at $8,600.
Louis Vuitton X opens in Beverly Hills alongside the Artycapucines launch.
A second Artycapucines collection by six more artists is released.
A review lists the MM at 31.5 x 20 x 11 cm and calls the Capucines a certified classic.
A pre-owned black Capucines MM is listed at $3,200 and marked on hold.
The world in 2013
Pope Benedict XVI resigns.
Pope Francis is elected, the first pope from the Americas.
Bombs at the Boston Marathon kill three people and injure 264.
Edward Snowden's disclosures of US surveillance programs begin.
Croatia becomes the 28th member state of the European Union.
Typhoon Haiyan strikes the Philippines and Vietnam.
Nelson Mandela dies at 95.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | $3,200 | Asking price, not a salePre-owned black Taurillon Capucines MM, gold hardware, very good condition; listing marked on hold. |
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 Capucines MM is number 55 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 (41 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- The Capucines flap is reversible in use: outside it shows a Monogram Flower, tucked in it shows the LV Initials.
- The brass nail heads on the handle rings are a nod to luggage made by Georges Vuitton, the founder's son.
- Louis Vuitton left home at 13 and traveled about 292 miles to reach Paris.
- Urs Fischer's 2019 Artycapucines bag turned his fruit sculptures into dangling charms.
- Louis Vuitton does not list an online price for the Capucines MM; it is sold only by phone and in stores in the US.
- Recent Capucines bags are authenticated with an embedded NFC microchip rather than a printed date code.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 1, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026